


All I did for you

by MissBoaBoa



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Norse Religion & Lore
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Death, Bullying, Child Abuse, Eventual Happy Ending, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Loki and Kid Thor (Marvel), M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-04-28 01:35:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14438673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissBoaBoa/pseuds/MissBoaBoa
Summary: Loki has joined the Avengers, but how! Follow Loki from an innocent Asgardian Prince to a War seeking Liesmith. What happened to him when he was young? How come he became the way he is today and why did he attack New York? See how Loki tries his best to fit in with his new Midgardian friends!





	1. Just like him

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> First of all, welcome to my third Fan Fiction and thank you for showing interest in reading this story!
> 
> As some of you might know, "All I did for you" is a prequel to: "sing me one last Christmas song" and "Sing me one last song" - A story following the recovery of our one and only Captain America after he went missing for 5 months. The story also features Loki as one of the Avengers and a lot of you wonderful and awesome people had asked me how he got to join them.
> 
> At first, I wanted to finish "sing me one last song" before writing the prequel but I have now changed my mind and, well, here you have it! This is the very first chapter of "All I did for you", following our dearest trickster God from a young boy to the full-grown man he is today.
> 
> Although this is a prequel, it can perfectly stand as a story of its own! So for all you Loki lovers, this just might be a story for you!
> 
> DON'T WORRY THOUGH! Sing me one last song has become my cherished baby and I will definitely continue that story once this is finished! Just try to look at this story as a bonus.
> 
> That’s about it for now. Like I said:  
> second chapter of “All I did for you” is coming online soon.  
> Tenth chapter of “sing me one last song” is almost finished and will be online soon as well!
> 
> So, without further ado, here is chapter one of: All I did for you!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> PS. For those of you who are reading my work for the first time, I am dutch so English is not my first language. Please let me know if you find any grammar or syntax mistakes and I will happily correct them!

'Loki, stop squirming!' Thor whispered at his six-year-old brother.

'I am sorry. It is your hair, it tickles.' Loki whispered as he tried to push Thor from his side.

'Ssssh! Here they come!'

'Young master Thor? Young master Loki? Where have you gone?'

'Young masters? Please reveal yourselves!'

The two maids searched every inch of the castle, looking for the two young brothers. It wasn't the first time the entire castle had to be turned upside down in search of the Odinsons and the worn-out staff knew it would not be the last time.

'Why does it always have to be like this? It is only a simple bath.' One of the maids complaint.

'Only a simple bath they state, and then it will be straight to bed I'm sure. Well we are not going to fall for such tricks now are we Loki?' Thor whispered to his one year younger brother while peeking through a small crack between the two doors of the wardrobe they were hiding in.

'I do not want to go to bed, I shall stay up all night long.' Loki smiled while adjusting himself between two of Thor's warm winter coats. 'This is so exciting! I can hardly wait to wander through these hallways in the middle of the night.'

'Loki, hush! They might hear you.' The two brothers held their breath until they were certain the maids had left the bedroom.

'They're gone!' Thor opened the wardrobe doors which led to both him and Loki falling face first on the cold marble floor.

'We did it brother! We will not be suffering from pruning fingers tonight!' Thor spoke triumphantly.

'I think I have a nose bleed…' Loki got back on his feet and wiped the blood from under his nose.

'Stop your whining Loki, we are free men tonight. What shall we do first? Loot the kitchen for cookies? Run through the forbidden gardens? Oh, I know, let's explore the deepest dungeons!'

'But Thor those are forbidden, father said they are filled with tre… treche-trecha-' Loki took a deep breath, he searched his pockets and took out a note with big words written on it. 'tre-a-che-rous law-brea-kers.' He spelled with care and a lot of effort.

'I know, exciting, right? come on, let's go.' Thor opened his box filled with toys and dived into the pile of plushies, balls and wooden action figures.

'What are you searching for?' Loki asked while standing at the edge of the box on the tip of toes, trying to see what his older brother was doing.

'I am searching -' Thor took another dive and returned holding up a sword. '-for this.'

'Woow! A real sword. It's so shiny!' Loki held up his hands, trying to touch it. 'Where did you get this? Did father give it to you?'

'No I, uhm… My master gave it to me, he deemed me worthy after our last training session.' Thor bragged as he triumphantly held up the sword which was about the same height as himself.

'Woow, really? That is amazing brother!' Loki stared at his role model big brother with glistening eyes. He had always admired Thor, he was strong, fast and liked by everyone he knew. He had courage beyond his age and was never afraid to seek out a challenge.

'I know!' Thor smiled as he clumsily got out of the toybox, almost dropping the sword and cutting off Loki's ear. He grabbed a belt and strapped the weapon around his waist, dragging the tip across the floor.

'Why is it you are taking it with you?'

'Because we are going to the most dangerous dungeons and I will be damned if I let any of those ruffians touch my little brother.'

'Oh, Thor, language!' Loki whispered while looking over his shoulder. 'Mother will not be pleased with your talking.'

'Well mother is not here, now is she? Come on, let's go!' Thor grabbed Loki by his wrist and together they made their way through the grand halls of the palace, careful not to be spotted by guards, maids or worse, their parents. They ran all the way down the old stone stairs till they could walk no further. They stared at the massive iron door blocking their path.

'Thor, I do not think it is wise to-' But Loki couldn't finish his sentence. Thor placed the palms of his hands against the cold iron and pushed with all his might. The door opened with a loud squeaking noise, casting a ray of light into the dim lighted room. With a confident smile Thor entered the dungeon, followed close by Loki who was hiding behind him and held on to his hand.

'Woow, so these are the most perilous prisoners of Asgard…' Thor strolled past all the cells, staring at each convict as if walking through a zoo.

'Thor I do not like this…' Loki murmured while holding onto Thor's cape, following him like a shadow. He felt chills running down his spine with every glare he received.

'Do not worry my dear brother, the great Thor Odinson is here to protect you.' Thor smiled as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

'Such a dangerous weapon for a little child to walk around with.'

Loki and Thor turned to the source of the voice. It came from one of the cells at the end of the hallway.

'It is not dangerous if you know how to wield it.' Thor spoke arrogantly as he walked towards the cell with big confident steps. He made himself stand tall as he glared at the man in the cell, arms akimbo.

'Any more words?'

The man smirked. 'Must I truly believe a little dolt such as yourself has mastered all the techniques necessary to wield such an honorable sword?'

'Brother wait!' Loki quickly ran after Thor and stared at the man as well. He was rather tall and small framed. His white straight hair was shoulder length, his eyes a dark shade of brown. He reminded Loki of the dark elves of Svartalfheim but noticed the ears were less pointy.

'Let's see, raven hair, alabaster skin and emerald eyes, this little dunce must be Loki.'

'Thor surely you do not fall for such provocations. Let's take our leave, l-let go get ourselves some much deserved snacks.'

'How dare you speak to the princes of Asgard in such fashion?!' Thor roared as he clumsily pulled the sword form its sheath.

'I will warn you, tiny Asgardian. Pointing your weapon at me would not be a very wise decision.'

'I am not afraid of you!'

'Thor, stop! Let us go back.'

'Listen to your baby brother, peasant. Run back to your minder, your maids, your deceitful father and whorish mother. Run, and do not return.'

Both Loki and Thor glared at the man in great anger, their jaws locked and showing their teeth. Thor was the first to open his mouth.

'Do not think y-'

'DO NOT DARE TO SPEAK OF MOTHER IN SUCH WAYS!' Loki screamed at the convict as he was trembling with ire. The fear in his body completely gone and replaced with a burning hatred.

'Loki…?' Thor stared at his little brother with wide-open eyes. Never had he seen Loki this raged.

'Ow.' The man simply replied. 'But, why not? Does it hurt you to be confronted with the truth?' A dark smirk creeped on his face watching Loki's anger grow. 'You see, your mother is mine and mine alone. She loves me, adores me, craves me. The Allfather has no right to-'

'SILENCE!' Loki shouted from the top of his lungs as he stormed for the cell.

'Loki! Stop! Do not touch those bars!' Thor screamed with panic in his voice as he saw Loki storming for the cell secured with high-voltage. This was wrong, all wrong. His little brother, his Loki was never like this. He was a gentle soul. A silent and kind child, sequestered when it came to strangers. This was not the Loki he knew.

'Mother is faithful! She would never have feelings for such a vulgar creature like you!' Loki raised his hands as they turned a deep shade of blue and slammed them hard against the bars, creating a flash of light as icy hands crashed with the electric wall.

Thor placed a hand over his eyes, protecting himself from certain blindness. He heard Loki yelp but could not see him. By the time he opened his eyes he saw his brother who had fallen to the ground.

'Loki! Are you unharmed?!' He asked while crouching down next to his brother.

Loki stared at the electric wall before pointing at it.

'H-how did you do that brother…?' Thor asked as he stared at a small opening the impact had created.

'I-I do not know…' Loki stuttered. He looked at his unscathed hands which were the same color as the rest of his skin.

'Child.' The man in the cell, who was just as astonished as the two little brothers, spoke. 'How did you make this happen?'

Loki stared into the eyes of the tall law-breaker. 'T-take it back! All of it! All of the lies you voiced of my mother!' He felt the hatred seeping back into his body. He got on his feet and crawled through the small opening he had created.

'Or you will do what exactly?' The man smirked. 'What could one tiny little Asgardian child accomplish against a skilled sorcerer of Vanaheim such as myself?'

'A sorcerer…?' Loki swallowed thickly, only now truly realizing how petit he was compared to the adult man. 'I-I am not afraid of you!' He took a small but brave step forward. 'I demand you to stop speaking ill of my mother!

'Loki!' Thor called out to his little brother as he tried to squeeze himself through the small opening as well. 'Loki get away from him now! Listen to me!'

'B-but he called our mother…! H-he said…!'

'I know what he said but you cannot fight him by yourself! Come back here now!'

Loki stared at his brother then looked back at the man who was now leaning over him.

'Y-yes.' He nodded. 'It is time to go. I do hope you have learned your lesson and will mend your ways!'

'Not so fast.' The man grabbed his small arm. 'My Seiðr may have been taken from me but I still have some tricks up my sleeve.' He grinned while bruising the boy's arm with his strong grip, he pulled Loki closer and whispered in his ear; 'Do you not wish to see one?'

'No! L-let go of me! I-it hurts! You are hurting me!' Loki felt a tear running down his cheek as he shut his eyes and scratched at the hand holding him. 'Thor, help!'

'Hang on Loki! I am coming!' Thor desperately tried to squeeze himself through the opening but it was in vain. He was too big to fit through and could only watch as his younger brother was hanging from his arm.

'Unhand me!' Loki squirmed as his small nails not even scratched the skin of his attacker. He wrapped his other arm around the man's wrist, pulled himself up as far as he could and bit down on the hand holding him.

Blood. He could feel it dripping onto his tong, leaving a sickening coppery taste in his mouth. More tears started to roll down his cheeks as he tried to swallow the red liquid as if forced to drink a poison.

'You horrid little vermin!'

Loki felt the grip on his arm tightening even further, if the man would not stop soon his arm would…

SNAP

Loki heard the bones in his upper arm break with a loud crack and a blinding pain shot from his arm through the rest of his body. He screamed from the top of his longs, crying and pleading the man to let go.

'LOKI!' Thor screamed with watering eyes as he saw how his brother was thrown against the wall and fell to the ground.

He smirked and turned his attention towards Thor. 'Now, let's see how skilled you are, little prince of Asgard.'

'THOR?! LOKI?!'

A roaring voice echoed through the dungeons, followed by the sound of a dozen of soldiers marching down the staircase. Thor knew that voice, he knew it all too well.

'FATHER!' He screamed. 'OVER HERE FATHER! LOKI…! H-HE IS…!'

'MOVE!' Odin commended as he came running for the cell, Gungnir in hand. He held on tightly to the Spear as he thrusted it through the electric wall, crushing it completely. He stood face to face with the criminal as the Einherjar gathered behind him, pointing their weapons at the inmate.

'They started this.' The man casually spoke while holding his hands in the air.

'Loki!' Frigga pushed her way through the soldiers and let herself fall on her knees next to her wounded son. 'It is okay little one, mother is here.' She whispered as she carefully took her crying child in her arms. She placed one hand in the back of his neck, closed her eyes and let a warm, yellow glow seep from her fingers through his skin and into his veins, letting it travel throughout his small body. 'Let this soothe your pain my dearest…'

'Frigga! I told you to wait!'

'Not when my children are in danger!' She hissed back at Odin while cradling Loki. 'Hush my love. You will be safe here in my arms…' She whispered while placing a tender kiss on Loki's temple.

'Frigga, my love…' the man smiled at the deity. 'My precious goddess, for once, would you speak to me with such kind word? Your soothing voice, whispering in my ear.' He took a step closer with lust filling his eyes. 'Those soft lips, caressing my skin…'

'Never!' Frigga glared at him while holding Loki closer against her chest, a raging fire burning in her eyes. 'You are a murderer! Slaughtering my people in vengeance of a war ended over a hundred years ago! For months you have stalked me, followed my every movement and now you have wounded my child…! I shall never be yours!'

'So you do not love me? You do not wish to be with me…?!' The man's voice darkened. 'All because of that little pest?!' He glared at Loki.

'Make one move and I shall end your life right here!' Odin threatened while placing the tip of his spear at the man's throat. 'My men,-' Odin spoke, addressing his soldiers. '-take him to a different cell.' Odin turned his attention back to the prisoner. 'I would not get too comfortable if I were you, for tonight will be your last night breathing.' He lowered his spear and let the soldiers take the man into custody. He turned around and walked for the stairs.

'Father I-' Thor begun, trying to explain himself but Odin would not listen and continued walking without even looking at him.

'Father…?' Thor called for him once more but received no answer. He turned around and watched his mother carry his pale brother in her arms, following his father. 'Mother… how is he…?' Thor hardly dared to ask.

'Not now Thor, we shall talk later.' She answered him and continued to walk. Thor stood, staring at the backs of his parents with tears in his eyes. He lowered his head dejectedly and followed them without sound.

Frigga took Loki to their healers who were already on stand-by and demanded to help examine her son. It didn't take long for the skilled men and women to find the cause of Loki's pain. It was a double fracture in the upper arm. That, and a minor concussion from being thrown onto the concrete floor if the cell.

'What happened Thor?' Frigga whispered softly while sitting next to Loki's bed where the small prince laid asleep. 'What in Norns name where you two doing in the dungeons? You had no business there!' She raised her voice at her oldest son who was almost as pale as her youngest.

'I am sorry mother…'

'How did Loki get into the cell? How was he able to get so close to that convict?'

Thor raised his shoulders. 'I do not know mother…' He mumbled.

Frigga looked at him and sighed. 'Why did you not take a bath like you were supposed to? You must have known the minders were searching for you.'

'We knew mother… We did not want to go to sleep yet and we…' Thor placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. 'We were seeking adventure…'

'Thor Odinson! That sword, how did you acquire it?' Frigga asked only now noticing the weapon. She took it from Thor's belt and unsheathed it. 'It is a soldier's blade...' She looked at Thor with narrowed eyes. 'Did you steal this?'

Thor stared at the ground, not daring to look his mother in the eye. 'Yes mother.' He muttered.

'Thor,' Frigga carefully placed the sword against the wall. 'You know I love you very much my summer child but this… this is just too dangerous. Norns know what could have happened, you cannot be this thoughtless.'

'He is not thoughtless, mother. He is brave, like father.'

Both Frigga and Thor turned and looked at the half-awakened raven.

'Thor has bravery, strength and heart and I… I just wanted to be just like him…' Loki mumbled softly before falling back into a deep sleep.


	2. Time to shine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as I promised, here's chapter two.
> 
> I try to keep the characters as "in-character" as possible within the lines of the MCU. However, the MCU does not tell us much about Thor and Loki's past so I had to improvise a lot...
> 
> Hope you will enjoy!

‘Thor, Loki, if you two will continue to run you will get hurt.’ Frigga warned her children as she lowered herself in the hot comforting water of the large bathtub build into the floor.

‘No we will not mother! Look!’ Thor came running naked from one end of the steamy room and stopped his motion midway, sliding across the floor on his feet till he hit the opposite wall. ‘It is really fun!’

‘Me too! Me too!’ Loki braced himself, dashed forward and tried to slide just like his brother did but instead fell face first to the ground and slithered directly into the bath.

‘No tears Loki, I warned you. This would not have happened had you listened to me.’ Frigga smiled at her son as she spotted a tear in his emerald eyes.

‘I shall never cry!’ Loki pouted and put up a brave face while trying to ignore the pain in his scraped knees and belly. 

Frigga chuckled, she swam towards Loki and give him a kiss on his head. ‘Brave little prince of mine.’

‘Cannonball!’ Thor called as he jumped into the bath, making it overflow. 

After the entire scene in the dungeons four weeks ago, which ended up in Loki breaking his arm, the two brothers had decided not to anger their parents any further and obediently took their baths whenever they had to which, as Thor already feared, always resulted in them being sent straight to bed afterwards. 

‘Mother, how did you and father know back than that Loki and I were in the dungeons?’ Thor asked as he roughly washed his hair with soap.

Frigga was silent for a moment. Truth was, she felt the Seiðr spell she had put on Loki’s body to conceive his Jötunn form break. Knowing that this could only happen when Loki would feel extreme threatened or angry, she decided to call for Odin and to start searching in the most dangerous parts of the castle. ‘A mother always knows what her children are scheming.’ She finally decided.

‘Really?’  
‘No way!’ 

Loki and Thor responded at the same time. 

‘So you always know when we are in trouble?’ Loki smiled. ‘That is such a reassurance, do you not agree brother?’

‘So you always know what we are up to as well?’ Thor asked carefully. ‘Seiðr sure is a frightening power…’ He said as he rinsed the soap from his hair with eyes shut tight.

‘It is nothing to be scared of my summer child.’ She took Thor on her lap and helped him to get all the soap from his face. ‘It is a beautiful gift.’ She placed her hands in the bath and let her green power flow through the warm water, forming fish of all shapes and sizes. 

Loki and Thor stared at the fish with eyes and mouth open wide, they looked at each other and dived underwater to watch them swim. Loki saw a group of veil-tailed fish graciously swimming by. Their many shades of green shined bright, creating a green hue through the entire bathroom. He stared at them till they all disappeared and surfaced.

‘You see? Was that something to be afraid of?’ Frigga asked.

‘It was beautiful mother!’ Loki smiled, his eyes shining with wonder.

‘Beautiful but useless.’ Thor said as he continued to bathe himself. ‘What good will fish do during battle? Plus, Seiðr is only used by women, men wielding Seiðr are all Argr.’ 

‘Who says so?’ Loki asked disappointed. He did not know what hurt more. The fact that Seiðr was indeed mostly supposed to be used by women, that men would be called Argr or the fact that Thor agrees to that matter. 

‘Says father! Seiðr is a woman’s weapon. It requires no strength from the user and it is a disrespectful, mostly unfair and sly manner of fighting.’

‘Have care of how you speak, Thor.’ Frigga warned her son. ‘There are many powerful male Seiðr bearers who could easily defeat a sword wielder.’

‘Well than they have yet to come across me and Loki, is that not right brother?’ Thor smiled at Loki, wrapping his arms around him. ‘We will show them all! No one would dare to cross our paths, the Odinson brothers will bring glory and fame to Asgard! With sword in hand, we shall be unstoppable!’

‘Y-yes.’ Loki mumbled with a smile. ‘Unstoppable…’

After their baths, Frigga brought her boys to their bedrooms and told them a bedtime story before kissing them good night. For Thor, she told the stories of old, of brave warriors and great kings. How they had fought to save kingdoms, protect realms and gained in glory and riches. For Loki, she spoke of creatures and destinations beyond imagination. Describing every little detail, from bright yellow and orange grasses softly moving in the gently breeze of an early spring to the forests of purple and pink trees, their leaves slowly falling like snow during the rainy seasons of fall. From the smallest of insects marching for food and shelter, to the greatest of birds soaring through the wide blue skies. 

‘Mother, all these places you speak of, do they really exist?’ Loki asked as he rubbed his eyes and yawned, showing all his beautiful primary teeth. Most of them still tightly placed in his gums, one sitting lose thanks to Thor demonstrating him a new punching technique, and two completely gone, leaving large gaps in his mouth. Oh how Frigga adored those lovely little white pearls.

‘They do.’ She answered while pulling Loki’s blanket up to his shoulders and tucked him in. ‘These Realms are full of wonders, ready to be explored.’

‘Have you seen them all?’ 

‘No, not all of them. That would be impossible, even for gods.’ She smiled and sat down on her knees next to Loki’s bed. ‘But I have seen some of it.’ She whispered. ‘I have seen giants building great walls, I have seen fields covered by thousands and thousands of butterflies with every color of the Rainbow Bridge, I have seen a city build in mountains and sparkling flowers in all colors lighting up the darkest skies.’

Loki looked at her with tiered and glistening eyes. ‘I have seen a whale swimming through the sky once mother.’ He whispered. ‘But I am afraid that was just a dream.’

‘These realms are vast, my love.’ Frigga smiled and placed her forehead against Loki’s. ‘Who knows, maybe one day you will see it happen.’ She softly pressed the tip of her nose against Loki’s. ‘But for now, you should rest.’ She placed a gentle kiss on her son’s cheek and brushed a lose string of hair from his face before standing up and walking towards the door. ‘Sweet dreams, my winter child.’

‘Good night mother.’ 

Loki watched as his mother closed his door and waited till he could no longer hear her footsteps down the hallway. He got out of bed and pulled a book half his size from underneath his bed. He dragged it into his bed as softly as he could and wrapped himself in his blanket. “The Arts of Sorcery: A Seiðr Guide For Beginners.” He took a deep breath and let the air escape his body through a sigh as he remembered Thor’s words. He opened the book and read the first page and then the next till he could no longer keep his eyes open and fell asleep, his book still close at his side. 

 

 

‘Loki?’

…

‘Loki wake up! It is time for training! We are late!’ Thor impatiently knocked on his brother’s door but got no answer. He started to worry, Loki was always early to rise and almost never slept in. 

‘Brother?’ Thor slowly opened the door and peeked inside. He chuckled as he saw his little brother half wrapped in his blanket, snoring softly while drooling over an old book. He carefully took hold of his shoulders, placed his head on his pillow and covered him in a mountain of extra blankets. 

‘You are such a dweeb.’ He whispered and smiled. ‘Stay here and rest.’ He closed the door and continued his way to the training grounds where he practiced his sword fighting with his tutor.

‘Well done boy, well done.’

Thor turned his head and saw Odin watching him from a distance. 

‘Father!’ Thor came running with a bright smile on his face. ‘Did you see me father? Did you watch me practice?’ He asked in excitement. 

‘I sure have Thor and you are making incredible progress.’ Odin praised as he lowered himself to one knee. ‘You will be worthy of the great Mjölnir before you know.’ He spoke with pride.

‘Does that mean we will ride into battle together?’

Odin placed his hand on Thor’s shoulder. ‘When the time is right, yes.’ He turned to his tutor. ‘Where is Loki?’

‘Young prince Loki has not yet shown himself for practice, my lord.’ 

‘He has not?’

‘Loki is still fast asleep father. I checked on him half an hour ago, it seemed like he fell asleep while reading a book.’

‘Reading?’ Odin frowned. ‘That boy is spending more and more days with his nose in a book, that cannot be healthy for a young lad...’ 

‘With all due respect my Allfather, but it seems like he has started to neglect his trainings as well. He is mostly late or does not show up at all. Those books are not serving him well.’

Thor turned to his teacher. ‘I am sure Loki does not mean to be neglectful!’ He then turned to his father. ‘I am certain he is just… studying fighting techniques. Loki has always been curious to theory.’

Odin smiled at his son. ‘That must be it my dear boy. I shall wake him, he has to start practicing whether he likes it or not.’ 

‘My King, may I have word with you?’ The tutor asked while putting the training equipment back into a large wooden storage. 

Odin nodded.

‘Thor, continue your running and make sure you do a good stretch when you are finished. This will not be long.’ He followed Odin to the end of the fields. 

‘What is it you wanted to say?’

‘I worry, my king, over Loki.’

‘What is the matter with him?’ Odin asked sullen.

‘He is… feeble, my lord. He is the weakest of all my students, his interests in practice, in training for battle seem to decrease every day. He is silent, hardly interacts with the others. He knows his strategies but when it comes to practice… Loki and Thor only difference by one year but they are so unlike.’

Odin frowned, not hiding the harshness in his face. ‘And?’ He asked short, his voice low.

‘A-and… I do not believe it is wise to let him enter the upcoming Great Tournaments, he will not stand a chance against the other competitors.’

‘Nonsense!’ Odin roared. ‘My sons will enter that tournament and they will win with great glory! It is your job to train them, to make them stronger! Superior!’ Odin leaned over the slightly shorter man, his voice low with anger. ‘Make. it. so.’ He turned and went for Loki’s room.

‘Loki? Loki, wake up lad!’ He knocked on his son’s door in frustration. ‘Open up!’ He did not wait long for Loki to respond and decided to enter his room. There, he saw the small raven-haired boy sleeping soundly, his pale skin bathing in late morning sunlight.

‘Wake up Loki!’ Odin spoke as he pulled the blankets from his body. He heard something fall, something heavy and looked to the ground. He picked up the book his son was apparently studying all night long.

‘Father…?’ Loki asked while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. ‘W-what time is it?’ He asked with a big yawn.

‘Loki,-’ Odin spoke softly, staring at the book in hands. ‘-have you been reading this?’ 

‘Reading what father?’ He asked while throwing his still short legs over the edge of his bed.

‘This!’ Odin threw the book in his lap, hitting his stomach.

Loki swallowed thickly and carefully closed the book without a sound, making sure to straighten every wrinkled page. ‘I… I just wanted to…’

‘Do not dare lie to me Loki.’ Odin warned him.

‘… Yes father…’ He muttered softly while hanging his head low. ‘I was trying to study Seiðr.’ He hardly dared to speak. 

‘I will not have this Loki, you hear me?!’ Odin roared, pulling the spell book from his hands. ‘How did you acquire this?!’ 

‘From the royal library, father…’ He kept his gaze to the floor, not daring to look his father in the eye. 

‘I want you to listen to me very carefully Loki… AND LOOK AT ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU!’ 

Loki looked at his father with tears in his eyes and shacking lightly.

‘I do not want you to EVER- study Seiðr again. You are a man! An Odinson! No son of mine shall be practicing this witchcraft! Is that understood?’

‘But father-’

‘IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!’ 

Loki fell a tear rolling down his cheek and nodded with quivering lips and a running nose. ‘Yes father…’ He spoke with a small shivering voice.

‘Good.’ Odin calmed himself. ‘Now I will make sure this book will be returned and I want you to go to the training grounds and continue your practices. The Great Tournament will start in six months, you must ready yourself.’ 

Loki nodded.

‘Good…’ Odin repeated and turned his back to his son. ‘Loki, do not disappoint me.’

Loki tried to calm himself and bravely wiped the tears from his face. He waited for his hands to stop trembling, chanced clothes and dragged his heavy body to the training grounds.

‘Loki!’ Thor waved from afar, signaling his brother to hurry up and join him.

Loki instantly felt a smile blooming on his face. He loved Thor with all his heart and admired him for as long as he could remember. He was always the one who could make him feel safe, who knew what to say when he was upset and who could conjure a smile on his face when he was feeling sad. Yes, if anyone seemed to bewitch him with Seiðr, it was his brother. 

He ran to his brother and waved but stopped in his track as four other children joined Thor at his side. He lowered his arm and stared at the four, his smile fading. 

There were three boys and one girl. The first was a redhead, he seemed taller than his friends but not older. The child next to him had blond wavy hair and there was a certain arrogance to him. The third boy had spikey hair, the same color as his own. Only difference was that where Loki’s hair would stay the deepest shade of black no matter what, the boy’s hair seemed to go slightly brownish with the sun shining upon his head. Then there was the girl. A brunette with kind and soft brown eyes, a peachy skin and teeth as white as snow. 

‘Come brother!’ Thor invited him. 

Loki swallowed and continued to walk.

‘The name is Volstagg, I come from the northern parts of Asgard.’ The redhead spoke loudly as he introduced himself to Loki. ‘I am acquainted with the usage of sword and shield but my heart remains loyal to the mighty axe.’

‘Fandral of the west.’ The blond spoke short. He was slightly taller than Loki and looked down on him with a smirk. ‘My heart lays with the sword. I even have my own blade waiting for me at home, especially designed to my style and movement.’

Yes, arrogance. Hanging over him like a poisonous cloud. Loki thought to himself.

‘I am Hogun from the east.’ The raven-haired boy greeted him with a small raise of his hand. 

‘And I would be Sif, I also come from the west.’ The girl said while crossing her arms. ‘And who would you be?’

‘Loki. Loki Odinson from, well… here.’ He said, awkwardly raising his hand. 

‘These will be our new friends.’ Thor smiled. 

‘Our new friends?’

‘Yes, they shall come live in the castle to join us in training and all six of us shall enter the Great Tournament and represent the strength of the Asgardian Palace. Is that not exciting?’

‘Y-yes.’ Loki answered and quickly raised the corners of his lips into a forced smile. ‘Most exciting.’

The following months felt like an ordeal to our youngest God. His training schedules where more demanding then ever. He trained for hours and hours by his brother’s side, trying his very best to keep up with the others. Unfortunately, despite all his great efforts, he started to lose more often during “friendly” sparring sessions and when those rare times of victory occurred his father would not be there to witness it. 

His new “friends” were also not quit what he hoped they would be but did live up to his expectations painfully perfectly. They were rude, rough and always saw ways to tease him without making it seem like it was intended. Childish tricks such as tying his shoelaces together, replacing his drinks with alcohol, dropping poisonous insects in his shirt or venomous spiders in his shoes, making sure he’d oversleep, making him trip and claiming it was his own clumsiness. Oh how he had grown to hate them.

Another day started and Loki entered the training fields with a big knot in his stomach and a lump in his throat. Again, Thor had gone ahead without him to meet with his friends early. There he stood, telling stories, the four others listening carefully to his every word and eventually laughing all together. 

Thor seemed happy.

No, Thor is happy.

And as long as Thor is happy, so is Loki. 

…

Then why did it hurt? Why did it feel like the knot in his stomach only tightened further with every laugh Thor shared with the others? Why did it hurt to see his brother, his role model, laugh with anybody else but him?

Loki could not find the answer and finally shook his head visibly.

He is happy.  
…  
It is true, he is happy.  
…  
Thor is smiling, then so is he.  
…  
When Thor is happy, so used to be he...

Time flew by and Loki counted down the days till the start of the Great Tournament. Just one more day, he had to endure one more day of training and teasing and then the festivities would start. Spectators and contesters would come from every corner of this realm. There will be food, drinks, dancers, music and fights. A competition of which he knew his father would expect him to come in second at least.

‘Alright, now listen carefully to me,-’ Their tutor announced. ‘-Tomorrow is the moment you have been waiting for. You have trained through many moons, weathers, and great soreness. You have faced your own boundaries and pushed right through them with sheer determination.’ He stood tall with hands on his back in front of his students. Fandrall, Volstagg and Thor listened to him with great smiles of pride on their faces while Hogun, Sif and Loki had a more serious and concentrated expression. ‘I have been blessed with the task of training you, preparing you for glorious battles and I believe you are ready. All of you.’ He looked at Loki but quickly turned his gaze to the others. ‘Now there is one last thing I have left to teach you. As you all know, it is tradition for the competitors of the Asgardian Palace to enter the rings on horse, so today I will teach you to ride your own horse.’

‘Ride our own horses? Is that not dangerous?’ Sif asked. 

‘No way, it will be fun! I bet it is easy.’ Thor smiled.

‘I’d rather walk.’ Hogun mumbled.

‘Nonsense, can you imagine having all control over those beasts? Do you have any idea how powerful we will look?’ Fandral smiled, already imagining himself riding on the back of a great white horse.

‘Animals.’

‘Hmm? What was that?’ Fandral looked at his side.

‘They are not beasts, they are animals. They are royal horses, they deserve respect.’ Loki stared straight ahead, not willing to even look at Fandral anymore. 

‘Quite right, young prince Loki.’ Their tutor continued. ‘These horses have aided Asgard in battle and brought us victory, they deserve nothing but our respect. Now, follow me. I shall show you your horses.’

The group of seven walked to the stables where seven beautiful horses stood waiting. One was white, two brown, two grey and one black. Volstagg and Hogun got the brown horses, Fandral, with much reluctance, accepted a grey horse together with Sif. The white horse was approved to Thor, leaving the black horse for Loki. 

They trained throughout the entire day, taking turns to practice walking. Sif, Hogun and Thor were even skilled enough to practice a little trot while Volstagg and Fandral where happy enough with their horses walking a slow phase. 

Loki took hold of his horse’s reins, waiting patiently for Fandral to leave the outdoor arena. 

‘Good luck, raven.’ Fandral spoke sarcastically as he wobbled past him with great soreness in his back, legs and ass.

Loki ignored him and entered the ring. He looked over his shoulder and watched Fandral joining his brother and the others in the observation area where they had great view over the arena.

He waited for his tutor to help him on his horse, took hold of the reins and with a light push of his legs prodded his horse to walk. It didn’t take long for him to get a hold of the riding techniques, he mastered the controls within 15 minutes, trotted for half an hour and even galloped for a few minutes.

‘Good job Loki! You are doing great! keep this up.’ His tutor praised him with an impressed smile on his face.

‘Well done brother! You are the greatest!’ Thor cheered from the observation area.

Loki smiled with confidence, his brother’s words of admiration filled him to his core with happiness. He continued his gallop, going faster and faster with each round. That was until a loud noise, coming from the observation area, spoked his horse and made him prance and buck in panic through the entire arena, throwing Loki from his back. Loki yelped as he fell and landed hard on his shoulder.

‘Loki!’ Thor screamed as he quickly came running into the arena, followed by his friends.

His tutor lowered himself to Loki’s side and carefully turned the boy on his back. ‘Loki, are you alright?’ he asked calmly while patrolling guards tried to capture the spoked horse.

Loki fought hard to keep his tears from rolling down his face. He clenched his teeth, placed his hand on his shoulder and nodded. 

‘What happened op there?!’

‘It seems like a stack of chairs fell down master. It must have been the winds.’ Fandral spoke while leaning over the young fallen prince who was covered in dirt from head to toe. ‘You know, you always were as pale as an orc but now with all that dirt on your face you … just look like a cave troll or something.’ He sniggered while Loki glared at him with hatred and tears in his eyes, keeping his lips shut tight.

‘Move!’ Thor ordered, letting himself fall in the sand on his knees next to Loki. ‘Brother? Brother, are you all right?’ He asked in great concern as he saw his little brother’s ashen face.

Loki felt a tear streaming down his face the moment he heard Thor’s voice, he gave a quick nod. He cursed mentally as he saw Fandral’s smile widening. 

‘All is well brother, I am here… come on, let us go see the healers.’ Thor carefully pulled Loki on his feet and supported him to the halls of the Healers where he was thoroughly examined. His injuries seemed minor, a mild concussion and a torn rotator cuff. The Healers advised Loki to rest for a couple of days, followed by therapy.

‘It could be worse, I guess.’ Thor spoke after the healers had left, trying to sound as positive as he could. He was sitting next to Loki in the examination room, waiting for his brother to get dressed again. ‘I am sure you will be at full strength in no time.’

‘But not in time.’ Loki mumbled as he carefully moved his arm in order to pull his shirt over his head. A sharp pain made him hiss as he moved his shoulder. ‘This will never be healed before days end…’ He tried to move his shoulder again and forced himself to ignore the pain and got dressed.

‘Loki, stop moving your arm. You heard the healers, you need rest. Now you stay here, I will bring this news to mother and father.’

‘No!’ Loki responded hastily. He scraped his throat and forced himself to relax his facial muscles. ‘There is no need to tell them.’

Thor furrowed his brows in question. ‘What is it you mean by that? You are injured, why would you not want them to know?’

‘Because…! Because I want to enter the tournament! I want to show father that I am strong and brave! I shall prove him I am not an Argr… If mother hears of my injury she will make sure I will not be able to participate!’ 

‘Loki…’ Thor looked at him in compassion. ‘Do you truly think father thinks of you in such ways…?’

‘I do not think so, I know so.’ He took a deep breath and sighed. ‘If only Fandral had not caused the chairs to fall this would have never happened...’

‘Fandral?’ Thor asked surprised. ‘It could not have been Fandral, ‘t was the winds that caused the chairs to fall, he said so himself.’

‘It was Fandral, I am sure of it! From the moment he and the others arrived in the palace they have done nothing but make jest on my behalf! Watching me fail pleases them!’

‘It is mere clumsiness and misfortune which you are experiencing, it has nothing to do with Fandral or the others. They are good companion, kind-hearted and a lot of fun. I am sure you will think of them just as favorable if you would have spent less time with your nose in books and more time with us.’

The only reaction Thor got from his brother was a soft hum. He sighed and walked through the door. ‘Loki, I shall be going now. Take your time and rest, I do hope I will be seeing you tomorrow, in the spectator’s area that is. Please rest and wait for the next Great Tournaments.’ 

Loki cursed out loud after his brother left. He would show them, all of them. He would show his father that he had what it took to be an Odinson. He would show Fandral, Hogan, Volstagg and Sif that he was more than just some weakling who’s only reason of existence was to be messed with. He would show all of Asgard that he, Loki Odinson, would no longer stand in his brother’s shadow.

Morning came soon and the early bells rang loudly as the guards opened the gates to the castle grounds. There was music playing, people were laughing, enjoying all variety of entertainment. Dancers, mages, animal acts, acrobats and puppeteers roamed through the castle gardens, presenting their tricks and creating wonder. The smell of delicious foods and exotic flowers filled the air.

More spectators came gathering as time went by, all headed to the arena in which the competitions would take place. Loki got on his horse and waited patiently in the shadows of a great arch till he and the others were called to ride into the light, into the grand arena. 

‘I still cannot believe you came brother.’ Thor mumbled. He was on his horse, standing next to Loki. They formed two lines of three. One with Loki on front, followed by Sif and ending the line was Hogun. The second line started with Thor, ended with Volstagg and had Fandral in the middle.

‘I thought of you smarter than this. How are you planning on pulling this off? He asked as he watched the other contesters walk into the arena after being announced. All were hailed with great enthusiasm, people were cheering and clapping, making joyful sounds. 

‘Easy.’ Loki answered calmly.

‘And now for the final contestants to enter the Great Tournament! Let your voice be heard for the representors of the Asgardian Palace! The young princes Thor and Loki! Lady Sif and Fandral, and last but definitely not least, Volstagg and Hogun!’

‘Just smile and wave brother.’ Loki said as he put on a brave face. He prodded his horse to a draft at the same time as Thor, stepping into the warm late morning sun, followed by the others. He raised his hand with effort and forced himself to smile at the cheering crowd. ‘Just smile and wave…’ 

The rules where simple. Fight till your opponent drops his weapon or surrenders. There will be no killing and no need for serious injuries. Well, that is for the youngsters of course. The rules for adults were different. Fight till your opponent surrenders or till death. 

After hearing the rules and sitting through Odin’s speech, the Tournament started. Even though the contestants were categorized by age, the duels would be drawn by a random system.

‘And now, for our first match! Who shall be blessed by the gracious Norns to start this glorious day with a battle never to be forgotten?!’ The announcer called through the microphone, making the crowd cheer in anticipation. ‘Release the birds!’ 

Four men entered the arena, carrying large baskets made from rough straw. They opened the lids, releasing dozens of beautiful white doves, all with a little nametag attached to their paw.

‘Now, let us see who will be first to fight.’ The announcer spoke as he waited for the first dove to return to the hand of its handler. It didn’t take long before the first bird graciously lowered itself to its caretaker’s hand. The man holding the bird carefully unstrapped the tag from its leg and gave it to the announcer. 

‘Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot believe our luck! It seems like our first contestant is of royalty! Please step forward, LOKI ODINSON!’

Loki swallowed thickly and stepped onto the battlefield with big, brave steps. He heard the people cheer and clapping but could not shake his tense and concentrated expression from his face. This is his chance to show his father once and for all what he was made of, this is his moment to shine.

‘And now, for his opponent…!’ The man paused his sentence, letting the drum ruffle increase the audience’s anticipation. He took the second tag in his hands. ‘FANDRAL!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it and if you do, please leave a Kudos or comment. I am always open for feedback if you have any :)
> 
> Thanks a lot for reading! Will be posting the next chapter as soon as I can!


	3. Fly my green bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> Welcome to another chapter of “All I did for you.”  
> It’s a little bit shorter than the others but don’t worry. I’ll make it up to you!
> 
> Please enjoy!

Loki watched as Fandral proudly walked into the arena. He waved to the audience, blowing kisses to all the pretty women and remained doing so long after he stood in place. Loki adjusted his helmet and glanced at his father who looked back at him, giving him a “good-luck” nod.

‘Well, here we are Argr.’ Fandral taunted him with a smirk.

‘Such clever ways of speech, I am on the verge of being impressed.’ Loki spoke sarcastically.

Fandral glared at him with anger, taking a tight hold of his sword and shield. ‘Shut up!’

Loki rolled his eyes. ‘Oh, yes, now I am trembling with fear.’ He spoke unimpressed while adjusting his yellow cape. ‘Tell me when you are finished with your epic symposium so we can start.’

Fandral was burning with rage, baring his teeth. He looked at the referee and gave him a nod, signaling he was ready.

‘I shall only repeat this once,-’ The referee spoke with a grim expression. ‘- there shall be no cheating and no killing. Disarm your opponent or make him surrender and the match is over, am I clear?’

Loki and Fandral kept staring at each other while nodding.

‘Good, fighters, are you prepared?’ He asked with a loud voice as the crowd kept cheering.

‘Ready?!’

‘FIGHT!’

Fandral immediately charged towards Loki with sword at his side, aiming to slit his throat. Loki quickly jumped to the side, held up his shield and slammed it against Fandral’s shoulder blade. The blonde gritted his teeth and hissed as he almost fell to the ground but quickly regained his balance with lightning fast footwork.

‘Is that all you have got, you Orc?!’ He came charging again, this time aiming for his injured shoulder. He reflected Loki’s shield with his own, slamming it out of his hand and pierced his shoulder with the tip of his sword.

Loki screamed in agony, the sounds of a crowd murmuring with shock were completely overwhelmed

by his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.

He regained himself and gritted his teeth as soon the referee was about to step in.

‘Oh my! Could this be it?! Could this already be the end of our first battle?!’ The announcer roared while leaning over the edge of his balcony, trying to get a better view. 

The referee came down and looked at Loki. 

‘Such a shame fate had put me up against you. I was hoping for an honorable opponent and a good fight but you did not even make me sweat.’ He sighed and brushed a lock of golden hair from his face with a swift movement of his hand.

The referee nodded. ‘The winner of the first rou-’

‘WAIT!’ Loki screamed from the top his longs. ‘I am not defeated yet!’ He raised his shivering arm to grab his sword with both hands as more blood gushed from the wound in his shoulder. ‘I still have a weapon! And I have not surrendered!’ He looked at his brother who he saw clearly screaming at him to just give but he could not hear his words. He looked at his father as he was sitting on the tip of his chair, his face showing a mixture of disappointment and concern. His mother seated next to him, her hands covering her mouth, her brows raised with fear and eyes watery with tears.

‘I can still do this father… for you… for all of us.’ He mumbled determinately as he took his sword in both hands, trying his best to ignore the lancinating pain in his shoulder. He came running towards Fandral with unsteady feet and lifted his sword. The pain and blood loss had started to affect his small frame, his vision began to blur, his strength slowly seeping away from his arms with every drop of blood leaving his body.

‘Sloppy.’ Fandral commented as he easily evaded Loki’s weak attack with a twist of his torso. He grabbed Loki’s shoulder, thrusting his thumb deep into the wound and jabbed his sword into the younger boy’s foot. He pulled Loki closer and hissed in his ear; ‘Surrender, Loki.’

Loki screamed as his wounded arm dangled numb at his side. ‘NEVER!’ He raised his sword with one arm and swayed it at Fandral’s side.

Fandral took a small step to the side and held out his foot, making Loki trip and fall face first to the ground. He casually dropped his shield to the ground, turned the dirt covered boy on his back and straddled him. With one hand, he held on to Loki’s only functioning arm, the other holding his sword against his throat.

‘What are you going to do now Argr?’ He smirked as his opponent struggled to break free. ‘Surrender Loki. I want to hear you say it!’

Loki’s panicked expression changed quickly into a devious smirk, twitching with pain. ‘You wish.’ He weakly raised his blood-covered arm and let a greenish hue emit from the palm of his hand. He conjured a small unstable dagger and thrusted it between Fandral’s ribs. ‘You might be stronger, but I still have some tricks up my sleeve.’ Losing his focus, the dagger disappeared from his hand.

Fandral’s eyes widened, he let go of his sword and grabbed his side. He fell to his back and laid there, gasping for air.

Loki growled softly as he crawled back on his feet. He wiped the sweat of his face, forced himself to stand tall and, with a proud and hopeful smile on his face, turned to his father.

‘I WON FATHER!’ He screamed, hoping Odin would hear him. ‘I DID IT! I…!’

His smile did not last for long as he saw Odin’s expression. Anger, disbelief, frustration and disappointment were staring right back at him. 

‘Father…? Father I- I really did it… I won.’ He spoke softly. 

With his smile gone, Loki stared into the crowd. They were all silent as the grave, staring at him with wide open eyes. He looked at Thor who met his gaze with the same expression. He blinked a few times and turned his gaze back towards his defeated opponent who was fighting for his life. 

‘Fandral…?’ He whispered and placed his small hand in front of his mouth. ‘What have I done…?’  

He fell to his knees and screamed Fandral’s name. He tried to shake the blonde’s shoulder using his one functioning arm while tears started to blur his vision. He was pulled from the body by two guards who were ignoring his cries to let go and dragged him off the field. With tears rushing down his face, he saw four Healers placing his opponent on a stretcher and rushing him towards the Halls of the Healers.  

Expecting to be taken to those same halls, Loki did not understand why the guards were taking him to the opposite direction. They marched down the corridors of the palace, opened two heavy doors and dragged him down a stone staircase. He knew these hallways, he knew these stairs. His eyes widened and flooded with tears as he started to panic.  

‘Please.’ He pleaded. ‘I- I do not belong in here. Mother and Father told me to never come here again! You cannot do this to me!’ 

The guards ignored his calls and opened the door to one of the many cells and threw the small god on the stone floor. 

‘No, please…’ Loki tried to get on his hands and knees but could already hear the guards closing the door.  

‘No! Don’t leave me!’ Loki panicked. He forced himself upon his feet only to stumble against the electric wall of his cell, sending a shock through his small body.  

‘NO! NO! NO!’ He cried. ‘I AM SORRY! I AM SORRY! I AM SORRY!’ He kept repeating, hoping the guards would return. ‘FATHER! I AM SO SORRY! PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ME HERE! I AM SCARED! FATHER! FATHER!’ He burst into tears and sobbed. ‘Mother… Brother… Please… I am so sorry…’ He crawled to the back of the cell, pulled his knees up against his chest and wrapped his one functioning arm around his legs, making himself as small as possible. 

‘I am sorry… I am sorry… I am sorry…’ He kept repeating as he tried to ignore the shouting and booing prisoners. He closed his heavy eyes and tried to think of stories his mother told him. He pictured himself, walking over orange hills as whales graciously soared through the cottony purple clouds. It was beautiful and tranquil. He imagined a soft warm breeze caressing his skin, the birds chirping their song of spring and a clear river of rippling water. But no matter how much he forced his brain to deceive him, he could not un-see Fandral as he laid there at his feet, the murmuring sounds of a disgusted audience, his father, mother and brother looking at him in shock. With tears still streaming down his face and blood still dripping from his shoulder and foot, the small god lost all consciousness.

 

* * *

 

 

‘Thor, come with me, it is time for bed.’ Frigga whispered in her son’s ear as she placed her warm hands on his shoulders.

‘I wish to remain here mother. With Loki.’ Thor answered as he sat by his brother’s side.

After Loki got carried away by the guards, Odin had decided to continue the Great Tournament. At first, the spectators were a bit apprehensive, gossiping about what just had happened but after a few fights, people seemed to have forgotten all about it.

Loki was placed in a cell but was soon retrieved and brought to the Hall of Healers where skilled men and women attended his wounds. He was now in a hospital bed, sleeping off his anesthesia.

‘You have had a long day, you should rest. Your brother is in good hands.’

‘Is there any news on Fandral?’ Thor asked with a stern face.

‘Not to worry, his condition is stable and he is already awake. The wound is healing properly, he will be walking around again soon.’

Thor nodded. ‘May I sleep here? With Loki?’

Frigga hesitated for a moment but then kindly smiled. ‘Of course, love.’ She placed a kiss on his cheek. ‘Be sure to wash your face and brush your teeth before you go to bed. Would you like for me to tell you a story or sing you a song?’

‘No thank you mother.’ Thor quickly smiled at her and waited for her to leave. He did as he was told and washed the dirt and sweat from his skin after a long day in the warm summer sun. He turned around and stared at his sleeping brother.

‘You will have to take a bath as soon as you get up you know…’ He said, not really expecting an answer. ‘You should have rested like I told you to.’ He sighed. ‘Then none of this would have happened…’

‘And yet you knew I would come…’ Loki spoke almost in a whisper as he tried to keep his eyes open and gazed out a window. ‘The stars are already out…? What time is it?’

Thor looked at him with crossed arms and then sat down on a chair next to his bed. ‘It is 02.30’

‘Wh-what happened? What about the Great Tournaments? A-and Fandral? How is he?’

‘He will live, not thanks to you though.’ Thor glared at him. ‘Why did you do it? Did you hate him so much you tried to take his life?’

‘What…? N-no! No, Thor you must believe me! It was nothing like that. I only wanted to show father that I am w-’

‘Worthy. Yes, you already said so…’ Thor sighed and climbed onto Loki’s bed, letting his legs dangle.

‘Father is very angry with you.’

‘I feared so…’

‘He will punish you.’

Loki nodded. ‘Do you think he will forgive me…?’

‘Of course he will. I mean, not today, nor tomorrow, nor the day after that… but I’m certain he will before your next birthday.’ Thor smiled optimistically.

Loki let out a moan in defeat while placing his face in his hands. ‘Father will kill me.’ He mumbled. ‘Do you think Fandral will see me…?’ He asked while peeking at his brother through his fingers.

Thor shrugged. ‘I don’t know, you should ask him yourself.’ He watched as his brother hanged his head in shame and guilt. ‘I came in first in our class by the way.’

‘First?’ Loki tilted his head.

‘Yes, I won the Great Tournament. Hogun came in second and Sif third, can you imagine that? I guess we should not anger her anymore huh?’ Thor smiled trying his best to make his little brother laugh.

Loki raised one corner of his mouth and nodded. ‘I guess not… Say Thor, will _you_ forgive me…?’

Thor stared at his little brother as he was anxiously waiting for an answer. He took of his shoes and pants, crawled next to him and covered them both in soft and warm blankets. ‘You know I could never hate you. No matter what kind of mischief you will get yourself into, I will always remain at your side.’

 

* * *

 

 

Two months.

 

Eight weeks.

 

Sixty-one days.

 

That was Loki’s punishment. Odin forbid him to leave his room for two months with the exception of school, training and dinner. He was not allowed to read, his books were taken from his room together with all his notes. Never had the raven-haired boy been this bored. A week had come to pass since the Great Tournament and all was back to normal. Fandral was fully recovered and bragged constantly on how he just barely survived the assault. Thor was still as kind as ever and his father was still stand-offish. Deciding it was best to lay low, he focused on his studies and keeping his grades up. But even for a clever little bookworm such as himself, studying from dusk till dawn was starting to get boring.

Loki closed his book on language studies with a deep sigh. He had finished all the chapters on tomorrows subject; Groot. He did find it odd that they would discuss this particular language. When would he ever meet a Flora Colossus, he wondered. He looked outside his window and watched as the stars and moon bathed the fields of Asgard in a mystic white hue.

‘Stargazing again?’ Thor asked as he popped his head through the open window.

Loki yelped and took a few steps back. ‘Thor?! What are you doing here? I am not allowed to have visitors, you know that!’ He harshly whispered. ‘And why are you coming in through the window?! This is the third floor, we’re at least 52 feet from the ground!’ He quickly grabbed Thor’s belt and pulled him inside.

‘I know,-’ Thor huffed as he stumbled into Loki’s room. ‘-It was quite a climb to get here.’

‘Thor! Give me a hand will you!’

Loki furrowed his brows and walked back to the window. ‘Fandral?’ He asked surprised.

‘No, I am one of the great Norns! Of course it’s me, now help me up!’ Fandral hissed as he reached out for Loki’s hand who quickly pulled him inside.

‘Why have you come? I bet father does not know of this.’ Loki asked while looking down his window, trying to figure out how in Norns name Thor and Fandral could have climbed all this way up.

‘I could write a whole book on things father does not know of.’ Thor smiled. ‘I came to see you. I miss being with you so I decided to climb up here after mother brought me to bed.’

‘You do? But … why is he here?’ Loki pointed at Fandral.

‘It is rude to point at people, you know.’ Fandral crossed his arms and watched Loki slowly lowering his hand.

‘Fandral had something he wanted to say to you.’ Thor looked at the blonde and signaled him to step forward.

Fandral sighed. ‘Okay listen Loki, I just wanted to tell you I am not mad at you for almost murdering me.’

‘You are not…?’ Loki asked with suspicion. Maybe he was wrong about Fandral, maybe he really was a good guy and maybe they simply misunderstood each other. ‘I am so happy to hear you say so. I am truly sorry I stabbed you...’ He mumbled and fiddled with his fingers.

‘I know, and I understand. I should have known you would turn to cheating as soon as I walked into the arena. There was no chance of you winning against me so, desperate as you were, you turned to your little magic tricks. So yes, I have decided to forgive you.’

‘I am happy you guys talked this over.’ Thor smiled before his brother could even comment. ‘Loki, I brought some of those cookies you love so much.’ He reached into his back pocket and held out a hand full of crumbles. ‘Ah, they broke…’ He pouted.

‘It is okay brother. I was planning on going to bed anyway. I really appreciate you coming here.’ Loki stepped forward and gave Thor a big hug. ‘Tell me, is father still mad…?’

‘What? No, of course not. Father loves you very much Loki but you did kinda broke a major law so…’

Loki nodded slowly. ‘I am so relieved to hear he is not mad at me anymore.’ He let go of his brother and smiled. ‘Thank you so much for coming, now go, the guards can be here any minute to check if I am asleep.’

‘Okay, I shall go, but I’m staying longer tomorrow. I’ll hide under your bed if I must. Maybe we could sleep together again.’ Thor’s eyes were gleaming with the idea of spending the night with his younger brother. They hardly ever slept alone, always staying up late, pretending to be Einherjar and going on grand adventures together. Saving the kingdoms of old, slaying countless Frost Giants, marrying women with long legs, large chests and blonde hair because apparently that is what men want.  Or so they had heard the soldiers talk at a party.

Loki nodded and smiled brightly. ‘I would really like that.’

He waved his brother goodbye and watched him climb down until he entered through another window. He turned around and took a step aside for Fandral. ‘I am really happy you are not angry anymore, Fandral.’

The blond, older boy frowned at him. ‘Thor is lying to you, about your father.’ He watched as Loki looked at him with a puzzled expression. ‘He is still angry, furious even. Thor just wants to spare your feelings.’

Loki sighed. ‘I  should have known… I already told father I was sorry, I do not know what else to do…’

‘There just might be a way...’ Fandral stared out the window. ‘Word is that a star fell from the sky and landed just outside of Asgard’s city walls. It is said that if you follow the red path through the forests of the north, you will be able to find it.’ Fandral paused and saw Loki waiting for him to continue. He sighed and rolled his eyes. ‘Look, that star is priceless. The dwarves use it to create powerful weapons. I am certain the Allfather will be very pleased if you would offer it to him as a token of regret.’

‘But I am not allowed to leave my room, and even if I were, I am definitely not allowed to enter the forests alone. Mother says monster live there and wolves and she would never a-’

‘The queen does not have to know.’ Fandral interrupted him. ‘You said the guards will come to check on you, right? Let them see you asleep in your bed and once they are gone, you can sneak out of the castle. You can use Seiðr, I am certain you will be able to disguise yourself.’

Loki fell silent and stared at the ground. ‘I don’t know…’

‘Fine, suit yourself. Just know that the Allfather will never look at you again. By using your Seiðr, you practically announced to all the Nine Realms that you would rather be a woman than a man.’ Fandral threw his legs outside the window. ‘Prepare yourself to be called “Lady Loki” for the rest of your life.’

‘O-okay, wait! Please.’ Loki took a deep breath. ‘Can you tell me exactly where the star is…?’

Fandral turned and handed him a folded sheet of paper. ‘You do not have this information from me, understood? If anyone were to find out I have given you this, it could cost me my head.’ he waited for Loki to nod as he took the paper from his hands. ‘Good, follow the red path. You cannot go wrong. The star is the size of a helmet, its light will shine brightly so you will be able to see it from afar.’ Fandral looked at the door as he heard men approaching from the other side. He quickly lowered himself through the window and climbed down. ‘Hurry, get in your bed! And remember, I have not told you anything!’ He harshly whispered and disappeared into the night.

Loki quickly jumped into his bed and covered himself in blankets. He heard the creaking door opening and saw the light from the hall entering his room revealing two shadows of men in capes.

‘Good thing we came to check on him.’ he heard one of the guards speak as he entering the room, increasing his heartrate. ‘Kid left his candles burning again.’ The soldier blew out the candles and left.

Loki led out a breath he did not realize he was holding in. He waited five more minutes, making sure they would not hear him. He got out of bed, changed into all black clothes, boots and cloak and placed some of his clothes underneath his blankets till it looked like someone was sleeping in the bed. ‘Please forgive me, mother, father,-’ He looked at the roughly drawn map Fandral had handed him. ‘- But I am certain you will forgive me once I have returned.’ He grabbed a small book which he had kept hidden under his bed, wrapped the cloak around his body and left through the window.

Sneaking from one shadow to the next, making sure no one would spot him, Loki stealthily made his way to the Northern walls. He hid himself between the large empty barrels next to the closed gate, looked up and saw soldiers patrolling on top of the walls. Knowing there was no way he could sneak past unnoticed, he pulled out the little book from underneath his cloak. It was a book on how to transform into animals using Seiðr. It was the only book Loki could keep safe from the guards when they emptied his chamber.

A bird. Loki decided. If he could transform himself into a bird, he could fly over the wall without anyone noticing him. Surely, he could do that, he had been practicing transformations before and they all succeeded … sort of. He carefully followed the instructions, closed his eyes and, with great concentration, let his Seiðr spread over his body. He opened his eyes and looked at his chest, his hands, arms and legs. It worked! He was a bird! A green one, but still.

Taking his color for granted, Loki focused on flying. It took him fifteen minutes to even lift himself of the ground, thirty more to actually fly. He clumsily flew over the wall, he saw a guard pointing at him and remarking his strange color but Loki didn’t care. He let himself fall into the trees of the woods and changed back into his human form. He was exhausted, the transformation had drained almost every drip of his energy. He crawled back upon his feet and stared at the red path laid in front of him. It was as if he was staring straight into the abyss as the trees blocked every ray of moonlight, he hesitated to enter but then thought back to what Fandral had told him.

The path may be dark, the forest frightening and ominous but at some point, a beautiful and warming light emitted by a fallen star will brighten his path and lead him towards his goal. He looked back one more time and saw the castle standing in all its glory, the kingdom of Asgard was at peace.

‘I will make you proud of me father, I promise you. You will not have to be ashamed of me any longer once I returned…’ He turned around and entered the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it for today, hope you liked it!  
> As I already said, I tried to keep the characters as ‘in-character’ as possible and I know Fandral probably isn’t this much of a douche in the MCU but… o well, sorry to all you Fandral lovers out there!
> 
> What will Loki find on his journey in the forest? Will he find the star? Or will he encounter something more dangerous?
> 
> Please stay tuned for the next chapter of ‘All I did for you.’


	4. Down the Red path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good morning, my fellow Midgardians! 
> 
> It is now 05.17 here in the Netherlands and I think that is a perfect time to upload another chapter on ‘All I did for you.’ 
> 
> I once again, would like to thank you all for your patience and truly hope you will enjoy this chapter!

‘I knew it! I knew I should have disagreed to your punishment, it was just too harsh!’ Frigga spoke as she phased back and forth in the private gardens where she and Odin where just discussing politics.

‘Calm down love, I am certain he is just… Going for a stroll or in the bathing room. You know he likes to soak for hours.’

‘Negative, my king.’ The guard, reporting Loki’s disappearance, spoke. ‘We have searched all the usual places prince Loki likes to reside; The bathing chambers, the fruit gardens, the great library. However, it pains me to say we have not yet located him.’

‘Oh my poor winter child…’ Frigga went completely pale and sat back down in her chair.

‘Now hold on, tell me exactly what happened. You were supposed to watch our child, how is it he can disappear without a trace?!’

‘We have watched your child. Yesterday, we brought him from his classes straight to his room. At 20.30 sharp we checked his bedroom to see if he was asleep and he was. The soldier on duty claimed he saw the prince sleeping in his bed, he blew out his candle and left.’

‘And yet he is gone! How come you not have noticed this sooner?! It is already late in the afternoon, you have brought him breakfast, lunch and snacks and what about his lessons? How come no one noticed his disappearance sooner?!’ Odin almost screamed as his head slowly turned crimson.

‘We brought him his meals, your highness, and we thought we saw him sleeping soundly under his blanket.’ The soldier replied, a soft shiver in his voice. ‘Our suspicion began to grow when we went to collect his plate after lunch and, just like his breakfast, he hadn’t touched it. Thinking he might have gone ill, we pulled the blankets from his bed and saw that he was gone. He had placed pillows and clothes underneath the fabric to give the impression of someone sleeping.’

‘And his lessons?!’ Odin spoke in frustration, not believing the excuses the soldier told him.

‘It is Sunday, my king. There are no classes. There was no reason for the prince to wake up early or leave his room.’

Odin cursed and looked at his worried wife. ‘I want each and every guard to look for him! He cannot have gone far! He must be in Asgard, still.’

The soldier nodded and marched back into the palace.

‘I am sure they will find him, love.’ Odin tried to reassure his Goddess as he placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘He could not have gone far.’

‘He is still so small, Odin… What if he went into town and lost his way? Or someone wanted to cause him harm and took him? Or Norns forbid he is outside the walls of Asgard?’ She almost cried, sick with worry.

‘There there, no one in this realm would hurt a defenseless child, let alone a prince. And if someone were to do as much as touch him, I will have his head.’

‘But it would already be too late.’ Frigga spoke, her eyes glistening with tears.

‘Father? Mother?’

The king and queen of Asgard looked up and saw their blonde son standing in front of them.

‘Thor? What are you doing here boy? Should you not be with your friends?’ Odin smiled, trying to suppress his worried expression.

‘I heard you arguing. Is something the matter?’ The still young Thor asked, his questioning gaze indicated he knew something was not right.

‘Thor, love,-’ Frigga got of her chair and crouched down in front of her son. ‘I am going to ask you a question and I need you to be perfectly honest with me. Do you understand?’

Thor nodded.

‘Have you seen Loki? Have you maybe spoken to him?’

‘N-no, of course not, mother.’ Thor turned his gaze as he had never been able to lie to his parents.

‘Thor, love, please. We will not be angry with you, just please tell me what you know.’ Frigga nearly begged, immediately noticing her son was lying to her. 

Thor looked at his mother and mumbled; ‘If I tell you the truth, will you really promise not to get angry?’

‘I promise, love. I really do, just please tell me what he said to you.’

Thor swallowed thickly. ‘I might have sneaked into Loki’s bedroom last night together with Fandral…’

‘You have done what?’ Odin asked surprised, not believing his son’s words.

‘Fie!’ Frigga pointed at her husband with a deadly glare, instantly shushing him. She turned her attention back to Thor, the sternness in her face gone. ‘Tell me exactly what you spoke of darling. Every word, I want to know it all, understood?’ She smiled at him.

‘W-well, I climbed into Loki’s room through the window. He immediately told me to leave. Said he was punished and was not allowed to receive visitors so it is not his fault mother!’

‘It is okay, it is okay. Please, continue.’

‘Tell us all Thor, we will not be mad.’ Odin spoke with a kind and gentle voice as he sat down in the grass next to his wife.

‘We uhm… we talked, all three of us. Fandral, he came with me to tell Loki he was not mad at him anymore. Loki seemed to be happy… I told Loki I would come again tonight and sleep with him after you would put me to bed mother.’ Thor hanged his head. ‘I am sorry…’

‘No no! There is nothing to regret, please, continue.’ Odin encouraged him. ‘What happened after you promised to return?’

 ‘Loki told us the guards would come to check on him, so Fandral and I left.’

‘And that is all? Loki told you nothing more? Maybe something about wanting to leave?’

Thor shook his head. ‘He did not say anything like that to me and I have not heard Fandral speak of such things.’

‘Fandral? Did he not follow you when you left?’ Frigga asked hastily.

‘Yes, uhm… no.’ Thor thought back to last night. ‘I climbed out of the window first and Fandral followed a few minutes later. But, why are you asking? Is something wrong? Is it Loki?’

Frigga looked at her husband with a worried expression.

‘Thor,-’ Odin began, placing his hand on his son’s small shoulder. ‘Loki, he is… he is gone.’

‘Gone…?’ Thor repeated.

‘Yes, he is nowhere to be found.’ Odin quickly added, already sorry of his poor word choice. ‘Now, we want t-’

‘Then Loki is in trouble!’ Thor interrupted his father. ‘He would never leave the palace, not even his room now that he is grounded!’

‘We know love, we know.’ Frigga smiled, as she wanted to remain strong and calm for her son. ‘Now listen very carefully. Your father shall gather a search-and-rescue team to look for your brother and I will speak with Fandral. Do you maybe have a secret hiding place you and Loki used to go to? Maybe a treehouse or something alike?’

‘Yes!’ Thor almost screamed, thinking of a few possibilities in and around the castle. ‘I shall look for him here!’ Not waiting for an answer, Thor dashed off.

‘Let us focus on the search and rescue, Frigga. If we march out now, we just may find Loki before dark.’ Odin spoke, watching with a small irritated smile as his son took a short cut through the rose bushes.

‘I shall go talk with the Fandral boy, he was last to be seen with Loki, maybe he can help us.’

It did not take long for Frigga to find the blonde as he was diligently studying for his history test in the Great Library. He was sitting alone, sunken into Asgard’s rich history.

‘Fandral?’ She took a seat next to him, her hand on his shoulder made the boy shiver.

‘My queen!’ he quickly stumbled. ‘What has brought you here?’

‘I came here to ask you about my son, Loki. He has gone missing and Thor told us you were the last to have spoken to him.’ With this, Fandral almost broke out in a sweat.

‘M-missing?’ He repeated. ‘I- I maybe, just might have, I mean…’ He looked at the queen’s stern expression and closed his book. ‘This is horrible, truly horrible.’

Frigga raised a brow at the youngster. ‘Fandral, might there be something you wish to tell me?’ She asked, growing a little suspicious.

‘There is, your Majesty…’ The boy turned to her and took a deep breath. ‘Yesterday night, after Thor had already left Loki’s room, Loki muttered something to me.’

‘And that would be?’

‘… He said he wanted to leave Asgard, forever.’ He faced Frigga, a serious expression on his face. ‘I stayed with Loki, told him it was madness and tried to convince him to stay. I thought he had listened to me but…’

Frigga’s face grew dark, she took a gentle but firm hold of the boy’s shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eye. ‘Did he tell you where he would go?’

‘Y-yes, my queen.’ Fandral stumbled as he had never seen Frigga quite so serious. ‘He said he would be leaving for the forests in the north.’

 

* * *

 

 

‘A hundred steps south, followed by twenty feet north. Cross the waters coming from the mountains keeping… keeping the evening star at my right…’ Loki mumbled as he sat on the cold, leaf covered ground. Leaning against a large tree and Fandral’s handwritten map in hand, he tried to retrace his steps. He looked up at the skies, but still no stars were to be seen as the dense forests created a roof of branches and leaves. He was losing sunlight fast and knew he had to find shelter somewhere. He had to stand up and walk. Just walk.

But where?

Where would he go to? He had lost the red path hours ago, making him go around in circles. Loki softly cursed as a tear rolled over his cheek. He was cold, hungry, tired and lonely but above all, he was scared. Scared that he would never see home again, that he would never hear his mother sing for him as she combs his hair. That he would never be able to go on another adventure with his older brother as they were supposed to sleep. And his father…! His father…

He missed his father.

Loki fought against the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He wiped his nose on his sleeve, stood up and, with tired legs, decided to continue to walk.

It didn’t take long for night to fall and Loki wrapped his arms around his body as he shivered in the cold night’s air. The fallen star would be seen from miles away and it would lead him to his goal. That was what Fandral had told him. ‘It has to be here, somewhere.’ Loki weakly convinced himself as he stumbled from one tree to the next, his eyes almost completely closed. ‘Just a little nap… could not hurt.’ He yawned and leaned against a dead tree. He fought to keep his eyes open although it did not make much difference. Opened or closed, the world around him remained as dark as his raven hair. ‘Just five minutes, I will continue my search in five minutes father…’ he slowly lowered himself and covered himself in leaves. ‘Just fi-five more minutes…’ He turned on his side, his head resting on his arm.

 

‘Oh traveler, rested with shield and spear,

What lengthy roads have brought you here?’

 

He began to sing softly.

 

‘What is the reason that made you wonder?

Was it the story of a baby born,

The promised Child of Thunder?’

 

He tried to continue, his weak voice constantly interrupted by sobs.

 

‘Songs of Praise created in the early morn’

When the Prince of Asgard that night was born.’

 

He envisioned himself, safe in the Great Palace. Sitting near the fireplace as snow was slowly falling, covering all of Asgard in a wonderous white blanket. It is winter, his favorite season and his mother is singing for him and his brother while they play games. His father watching the two of them with pride, his eyes showing love and affection.

 

‘The skies were bright and Asgard great,

In his future glory and fame shall await.’

 

He continued as he tried to fool his body in believing the warmth of the fireplace emitted upon him.

 

‘All of Realms shall hold and pray,

Only songs of hope shall ring today.’

 

Loki shot up straight as he suddenly heard the sound of a twig snapping in half. He looked around but saw nothing as there was hardly any light.

‘H-hello…?’ He tried to be brave. ‘Is anybody out there…?’ He stood up, dusting off his clothes. ‘M-my name is Loki Odinson, I would very much like to meet you.’ He called out, hoping for an answer. ‘Please help me, I am lost and wish to return home. Your help will be rewarded!’

But still, no answer.

Thinking it was all inside his head, Loki leaned against the tree again. ‘It must have been the wind…’ He sighed and closed his eyes.

Loki took one last deep breath and continued.

 

‘So traveler please, let out your voice,

Sing the Song of Praise and rejoice.’

 

He started to cry as soon as the last sentence left his mouth, pleading for his parents and brother to find him and take him home.

He looked up again, hearing footsteps coming from his left. At first, Loki tried to hold his ground. Blinded by the night, he searched for a stick and held it in front of him as a weapon. However, as the footsteps slowly came closer, he felt his tears rushing down his face again. He turned around and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, crying for the creature to go away.

‘Brother! Please, help me!’ He screamed out loud as he ran from one tree to the next. ‘I do not want to die! I am sorry!’ He leaned against a tree to catch his breath and looked around in hopes of finding a place where he would be safe. With blurred vision he squinted his eyes as he saw something in the distance. It was a light; a soft and weak fire was burning not too far from him. He wiped his tears from his eyes and with his last strength made a final sprint.

Softly he walked through the surrounding bushes, careful not to make any sound. He came closer to the dying flames, cautious of his surroundings. There, he found a small shelter created from branches and sticks, a pile of neatly stacked firewood, a log on which to sit and, of course, the now smoldering fireplace.

‘H-hello…?’ Loki carefully announced himself, looking for any form of life. ‘Anybody here…?’ He tried again but no answer came. He quickly stepped forward, grabbed some firewood and placed it on the dying fire in hopes to get it started again. He sat down on the log, holding his hands close to the warmth.

He then looked up, startled by a sudden, horrific scream coming from behind the trees. It was a man, or so he thought, screaming in pain but as it was still completely dark, he could not see what was happening exactly.

Loki slowly stood up, staring through the flames, hoping to see who or what was out there. His gaze was suddenly met by two glistening eyes as a great white wolf came from the bushes and stepped into the light of the fire. Loki held his breath in awe and sheer fright as the majestic beast graciously walked towards him. It was at least four times Loki’s size, it’s eyes a bright shade of yellow, its paws and snout covered in blood. 

The wolf, now standing only inches away from the young and petrified Asgardian carefully moved one more step forward, softly sniffing his hair.

Loki let out a soft chuckle as its breath tickled him and in a reflex, placed his small hands on its snout. He watched with blood covered fingers as the wolf sat down in front of him, resting its head in his hands.

‘Fenrir…’ He whispered softly. ‘You are the great white wolf Fenrir, are you not?’ At this, the wolf did not move, it merely looked at the young prince with deep yellow eyes.

‘… Will you stay with me?’ He spoke with quivering voice, not really expecting an answer. He wiped the still on-going tears from his face. ‘I am not all that brave but… mother and father say I am rather smart! Although I am lost right now…’ He said as he started to feel light-headed. ‘and I am tired… and hungry… and scared.’ He sighed. ‘I can imagine you do not wish to stay near me… Even I would not wish to stay near me…’

The wolf looked at the youngster with deeply penetrating eyes and stood up, its massive body hanging slightly over that of the little god.

Loki swallowed thickly, his hands started to shake again as his body reacted with fear. He wished to close his eyes, to turn away from the beast but froze.

The wolf gave him one last sniff and cried in a loud, whining voice which echoed through the entire forest. Loki quickly moved backwards, stumbled over the log which served as a seat and crawled inside the little shelter. He scuttled as far back as he could and made himself as small as possible as he cried in fear. ‘I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry…!’ He kept repeating as his entire body trembled. He heard Fenrir’s footsteps closing in as its lament ended. He peeked through his fingers, his gaze met by two bright yellow eyes as the creature stared at him. Loki screamed and covered his eyes with his hands again, smearing blood over his face.

He did not know for how long he laid there, crying. But then, out of nowhere, he heard a familiar sound. The sound of horses marching their way over leaves covered grounds, the sound of soldiers, their armor rustling. But most of all, the sound of a man calling his name. It was his father.

‘Loki!’

At first the sounds were far away but they soon came closer.

‘LOKI! WHERE ARE YOU SON?!’ Odin roared through the dense forest as Sleipnir, his eight-legged horse, restlessly continued to walk forward.

‘Father…’ Loki whispered. ‘FATHER!’ He screamed, crawling out of the small shelter and ran towards the source of the sound.

As he was not able to see where he was placing his feet, Loki tripped and rolled down a steep hill. He laid still on the cold ground, the fall was so sudden he did not even know what had happened. He tried to get on his feet with a hiss as his skin was scraped on places he did not even know was possible. His father, where was his father?

‘FATHER?!’ He screamed from the top of his lungs, trying to keep his balance as his world was still spinning from his fall.

‘Loki!’ Odin roared as he saw his son standing in a daze. He got of his horse and ran towards his youngest child. ‘Loki!’ The first thing he did was pick his son up and embrace him in his strong arms, holding him tightly against his chest. ‘You are freezing, my child. Are you alright?!’ he looked at Loki with worried eyes as he received no answer.

Loki stared at his father with teary eyes, his nose running and his bottom lip quivering.

‘Loki… what in Norns name happened to you…?’ Odin spoke, almost in a whisper as he saw his son covered in abrasions, his face and hands covered in blood.

Loki still didn’t spoke, the trembling of his lip only getting worse as tears started to stream from his eyes. It was the soft touch of Odin’s large hands through his raven hair that finally made the boy open his mouth.

‘I AM SO SORRY FATHER!’ He screamed as he cried uncontrollably. ‘I was so scared! I should never have left! I am so sorry! Please, please forgive me!’ The child pleaded as he clenched on to Odin’s strong neck, his tears disappearing in the man’s beard.

Odin, not knowing what to say, gently wrapped his arms around his trembling son. ‘Hush, my child, you are forgiven.’ He whispered with a slightly quivering voice as he cradled Loki in his arms. ‘All shall be well once we’ve returned.’

He stood up, making sure to hold his son close against his chest. ‘Let us go home, Loki. Your mother and brother are waiting for you.’ He teared his bright red cape from his shoulders and used the fabric to cover his son in an attempt to keep him warm. He got on his horse and, with a trot, returned to the Great Palace.

 

* * *

 

 

‘Thor, you will catch a cold if you stay out like this, now come inside.’ Frigga called her son who was standing in front of the main gate. His arms crossed, his face showing a stern and determined expression.

‘Father has not yet returned.’ Was his only answer.

‘I know, love.’ Frigga stood next to him, her hand resting on his shoulder. ‘And I promise I shall wake you the moment they return.’ She placed a gentle kiss on Thor’s cheek but the boy did not move. He did not even look at her, keeping his eyes fixated on the gate.

‘I will wait here.’ He spoke determent.  

‘Thor…’

But the young prince still did not move.

‘… I understand, love.’ She eventually spoke. ‘We shall stay here and wait, together.’ At this, Frigga’s gaze was finally met by Thor’s worry-filled eyes and the blonde giving her a soft nod of approval.

Frigga was just about to call for a maid to bring them blankets and a warm drink when they heard the sound of horses galloping. They both looked up with hopeful eyes and saw a group of soldiers, led by Odin, return.

‘It is father!’ Thor nearly screamed, pointing in their direction.

Odin, holding a sleeping child tightly against his chest, came riding in. He got of his horse and walked straight for his family as they came running for him. He saw his wife ready to call her son’s name and quickly placed his finger on his lips, signaling her to remain quiet.

‘Hush now, my dearest.’ He spoke softly, showing her the pale raven, who was clenched against his body even in his sleep. ‘He fell asleep as soon as I got on Sleipnir.’ Odin lowered himself to his knees so that Thor could lay eyes upon his younger brother.

‘Loki…?’ He almost whispered with a quivering voice, seeing his brother covered in dirt, blood and abrasions. Thor quickly held on to his mother’s dress as he felt tears welling in his eyes, his face paling.

‘There, there son. Do not cry. He will be alright, he just needs to rest.’ Odin spoke, resting his hand on Thor’s shoulder.

‘Loki... I am so sorry…’ He whispered as he slowly got closer. ‘I promise I will never let anything happen to you again…! Ever!’ He spoke and sniffled loudly. ‘I will never leave your side,’ he said as he did his best to suppress a sob. ‘My dearest baby brother.’  


	5. On a hot Summer day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone and welcome to my fifth chapter of ‘All I did for you.’
> 
> I decided to try something new here. I challenged myself to write a chapter which would not be filled with horror, angst, hurt, torture or any other form of suffering. (those of you who might have also read ‘Sing me one last song’ might understand my challenge here XD)
> 
> So, here it is, a chapter filled with nothing but Loki and Thor interacting together. I really hope you’ll like it! Next chapter will further the story line, I just really needed Loki and Thor to have some quality time together. (In their own, unique ways of course)

Another hot day came to pass in the Realm of Asgard. The burning sun still shining bright on the horizon, birds singing their Summer songs and fields of colorful flowers letting their sweet aromas drift into the warm breeze.

The people of Asgard were used to these tropical temperatures and knew just how to handle them. Shops opened at later times and closed early, schools would have their classes outside underneath the great trees, enjoying their shadow. Children, hardly able to contain their excitement as they would travel to nearby lakes where they would play, swim and have competitions on who could build the largest sand castle.

Yes, all of Asgard seemed to have adapted quite well.

All, but one.

The 15-year-old Loki was sitting in the Great Library, almost completely hidden as he was surrounded by stacks of books. It was quiet and cool, a combination he seemed to favor above all.

It was not that he did not enjoy sunny days, on the contrary, he could go explore the mountains in the south or visit the great markets in search of rare items. Or, his personal favorite, watch the stars on a Spring evening. Yes, there was nothing wrong with Spring and its nice mild temperatures.

Summer, on the other hand, well, he just couldn’t cope.

The heat would leave his entire body in a disgusting sweat with just the twitch of one muscle. The sun would leave his skin burned within the first ten minutes if he were to stand outside. Then, there were the sleepless nights, headaches, and constant craving for everything cold or frozen, leaving him basically on an ice-cream-only diet. Furthermore, there was the feeling of tiredness, bathing became like entering a pot of boiling water and insects were crawling everywhere, buzzing, biting, stinging.

No, Summer was just not his season. Well, speaking of annoying insects;

 

 

‘Don’t.’

 

…

 

‘I am warning you…’

 

…

 

‘Thor, I swear to the Norns, if you trick me now, I will cut you into pieces and sell you on the great market!’

 

‘Oh come on, brother! How did you even know I was sneaking up on you? I was as quiet as a mouse.’ The sixteen-year-old complained in disappointment as he stood at least 20 feet away from his brother.

Loki sighed in irritation and laid down his book. He turned around, leaning over the back of his chair. ‘You are soaked,’ he started, looking his brother up and down. ‘I could hear you “sneaking” up on me from miles away on those wet feet. You are much like a duck, wobbling around bare-feet on these marble floors.’

‘A duck?’ Thor asked while slightly tilting his head but then let out a laughter. He walked towards his brother and embraced him in his strong arms to which Loki let out a short shriek as he felt water soaking his clothes.

‘How many times do I have to ask you to dry yourself first after you went swimming?’ the raven nearly hissed as he protected his book against the water dripping from the blonde’s hair. ‘A week ago, I saw a group of soldiers slipping on the trail of water you left behind through the palace. You are like a slug!’

‘So I heard,’ Thor reacted with a smile. ‘You actually saw it happening? It must have been hilarious.’

‘… Yes, it was.’ Loki finally had to admit, a smile creeping on his face as he thought back to the cursing men. ‘Only problem is that I got blamed, again.’

‘Well, that cannot be helped, Loki.’ Thor shoved a pile of books to the other side of the desk and nearly sat down on some important notes if it wasn’t for his brother saving them. ‘You are the one to constant misbehave, this is just a natural reaction.’

Loki then mumbled something which Thor could not clearly hear and a little voice inside him told him he was better off like that.

Loki remained silent, not willing to go through all the trouble of defending himself, again. He thought he would get used to the constant teasing of his brother’s friends, and he did. However, as time went by, the warriors three seemed to make it a sport to frame Loki for all sorts of mischief he did not commit. This led to many endless “did-not-did-too” discussions between him and the three other young men, his father almost always choose the visible evidence over his word. Thus, he was nick-named as ‘Trickster’ by the age of 12. Though no one really thought anything of it since he was always caught red handed.

Thor was the only one who would believe him by his word, eventually. But just as his brother could never see the wrong in him, he knew he could also never see the wrong in his friends. No, Thor’s heart was just too big for that. His faith in his friends too strong and his constant believing in the good-in-all-people too great.

Really though, Loki could not bring himself to hate his brother’s ignorance. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three seemed like good companions for him and as long as Thor was happy, well, so was he. Just as always.

Thor stared at his brother, knowing that the last couple of years have been anything but smooth with his brother’s constant misbehaving and it is safe to say that Loki’s relationship with his father suffered greatly on those actions. Whether it was inside the palace, in town, during hunting trips or even when visiting other realms for political matters, his brother always seemed to manage to ruin every occasion with his devilments. Their father seemed to blame his usage of Seiðr and he would not have Loki’s excuses of being innocent.

‘What is it you are reading?’ Thor eventually asked, breaking the silence.

‘Nothing, just, something you would not be interested in.’ Loki quickly closed the book, covering it with his arms. ‘Now go dry yourself and put some decent clothes on.’

‘You are starting to sound like mother.’

‘Well, at least I sound like someone wise.’ Loki snarled under his breath as he watched the great contrast of his brother’s sun-tanned skin against his pale and alabaster’s. He then sighed. ‘Pardon my attitude…’

‘That is quite alright, I know you dislike the heat and I know what it does to your mood.’ Thor peeked at Loki’s arms, trying to read the title of the book. ‘So, tell me, what is it you are reading?’

‘As I said, nothing that would be of any interest to you.’

‘I highly doubt it, you, my dearest brother, are trying to hide something from me.’ Thor looked up and stared into the distance. ‘It seems like a fight is going on, care to watch?’

‘A fight?’ Loki repeated, raising a brow in disbelief. ‘Here, in the palace?’ he turned around, following Thor’s gaze to which the man quickly snatched his book off the table.

‘Wha-?! Thor, give that back!’ Loki tried to reach for his book, even standing on the tip of his toes but his brother remained slightly taller.

‘Hu-man Transe-form-ation-s.’ Thor spelled as he was hardly able to read the cover with his younger brother’s hand on his eyes. ‘A Seiðr Guide for Beginners...’ He quietly gave the book back. ‘Loki,’

‘Not a word!’ Loki harshly whispered as he greedily took the book from his brother’s hands.

‘You told mother and father you would stop.’

‘I know.’

‘You promised.’

‘I know.’

‘You said you would never read another book on this magic again.’

‘I know!’ Loki answered a bit irritated. ‘I know what I said.’

‘So, then you… you lied to them?’

‘Yes, fine, I lied to them, now hush!’

‘But why?’

‘Because…!’ Loki sat back down on his chair, placing the book back on the desk with care. ‘Because I want mother and father to stop fighting…’

‘Fighting?’ Thor repeated with a slight tone of worry. ‘Father and mother do not fight, they never do.’

‘Or so they want you to think.’ Loki sighed, fumbling with one of the pages. ‘They fought a lot because of me… Mother always defended me on the choosing I made to use Seiðr but father would hear none of it.’

‘Well, father just wants what is b-’

‘What is best for me, I know, Thor.’ Loki closed his book again. ‘I just cannot help it, I,’ He stumbled, trying to put his love for the mystic arts into words. He sighed as he came to realize he himself did not even know what it was exactly that made him so curious and intrigued. He looked up at his brother who was staring back at him with wide questioning eyes.

‘Ugh,’ Loki finally uttered with rolling eyes. ‘Never mind, I do not expect of you to understand. You, who loves fighting using whatever weapon you can get your hands on, Norns, you’re such a brute.’ He casually closed his eyes and leaned back a little in his chair, telling his brother to drop the subject with a wave of his hand.

Thor looked at Loki with a sad smile as he recognized his brother’s sudden change of attitude. He would always do this. Every time he did not want to talk, every time he did not know what to say, he started to act cold, distant, sometimes even arrogant, like he did not care at all. But Thor knew better. He knew Seiðr meant a lot to Loki and he knew just how sensitive the subject was as he had lost count on how many endless fights his baby brother had with his father. 

‘Well then show me.’ Thor finally stated.

‘Show you?’ Loki repeated. The unexpectedness of the answer made him drop his tough act. The gentle eyes that Thor has come to love so much instantly returning.

‘Yes, show me. If I cannot understand by your words, then make me understand by showing it.’ He explained with a kind but slightly nervous smile.

Loki stared at his brother, blinking his eyes a couple of times in disbelief and surprise.

‘Are you- Are you going to tell father?’

‘Not to worry, I am merely showing interest.’ Thor replied, crossing his arms. ‘I have no intention of telling this to father.’

‘But you are going against his wishes.’

‘What? No, I would never.’

‘Yes, you are! You know father forbade me from using Seiðr, yet here you stand, asking me to do exactly that!’ Loki smirked, a wide grin on his face as he nearly jumped from his chair. ‘And I like it.’ He chuckled. ‘Agreed brother, I will show you what it is I can do!’

Thor raised a finger at this statement, then thought about what his brother said and slowly lowered his hand again as he came to realize the raven was right. No matter how he would put this, he, in the end, was going against his father’s wishes.

He sighed.

Going against his father. Well, if that would end in a smile on his brother’s face, it would be worth it.

After Thor had changed clothes, Loki took his hand and guided him to the Winter chambers which were specially designed to reside in during the colder months but were completely abandoned during the period of Summer.

‘Are you prepared, brother?’ Loki smiled deviously.

‘Prepared for what…?’ Thor asked with care as he started to regret his decision.

‘To witness true power.’ Loki focused and raised his hands, a green light emitting softly from his body.

It was silent for about half a minute as Thor tried to see what his brother had done. ‘I do not know what it is you were trying to accomplish but I think it failed.’ He finally dared to state.

‘You think so?’ A soft, whispering voice replied, close to his ear.

Thor shrieked as he looked behind him and nearly fell of his chair as he stood face to face with his baby brother. ‘Wha-?! But how?!’ he stumbled, looking from the Loki behind him to the one in front of him.

‘Seiðr, brother.’ Loki smiled at Thor’s confused expression. ‘And that’s not all.’

Loki showed the god of thunder everything he has learned thus far. He shifted into an owl, a snake, a cat and a wolf and ended his little demonstration by summoning a silver dagger in each hand.

‘I, I did not know you were already capable of doing all this,’ Thor managed to speak with a hint of worry. ‘How long have you been practicing Seiðr again?’

‘Everyday, from when I was six.’ Loki spoke with a proud smile while panting and leaning against the cold wall. He had never used his Seiðr this much and it was clearly something he could not handle yet.

‘You look exhausted.’ Thor looked outside the window and saw the moon had risen over Asgard. ‘It’s already late, we should take a bath and head to bed.’

‘No wait, one more.’ Loki, in his excitement, quickly grabbed Thor by his wrist and pulled him off his chair.

‘No, no, no,’ Thor protested but of course his baby brother did not listen. ‘I am not into magic Loki, you know this.’

‘Quit your whining, I am not going to do anything to you, that would be a waste of my powers.’ He looked the god up and down with care and took a deep breath. He let his Seiðr travel over his body, attempting to transform himself in the young god of thunder.

Thor looked at his brother with wide open eyes, his mouth slightly open.

‘Well, pretty impressive, would you not agree?’

‘Uhm…’ Thor stammered. ‘Loki…’

‘What?’ Loki asked, a little insecure. He walked towards one of the large mirrors, dusted it with his sleeve and stared at his reflection.

How could he even begin to describe himself? His eyes were a strange mixture of blue and green, his hair, though having Thor’s haircut, still remained black. His skin did change slightly in tone but was not nearly the same sun-tanned color of his brother’s. His frame remained small, his clothes had changed properly, though the colors were completely off

Loki sighed deeply and let his shoulders hang as his brother stood behind him and placed his hands on them.

‘I think you did well, Loki.’ He spoke in a comforting tone. ‘Mother told me many times Seiðr is extremely hard to master and look what you have already accomplished. I think she would be very proud of you.’

‘Yes, I guess…’ Loki responded in defeat and quickly placed his hands on his mouth as his voice was nowhere near that of his own nor of his brother.

Thor chuckled softly. ‘Come brother, it is time for us to go to bed.’

Loki looked at Thor and nodded, not a single word coming from his lips. He looked into the mirror again and let his failed disguise ebb away.

 

* * *

 

 

After a short, but much needed bath, Loki and Thor walked soundlessly through the palace halls. Loki let out a sigh of relief, feeling the cooling evening breeze on his skin.

‘I am not really a fan of Seiðr,’ Thor started. ‘but I must say you left me impressed.’

Loki looked as his slightly taller brother and let on a gentle smile. ‘Mother is much better.’

‘Mother is also much older.’ Thor turned to his younger brother, a broad smile on his face. ‘Truly, I think you are very talented, Loki.’   

‘Y-yes, well,’ Loki almost stumbled, a soft pink blush on his cheeks as he avoided eye contact. ‘I knew that already, you do not have to confirm.’ He answered and although his chosen words were not exactly what Thor was hoping for, he could still hear the soft undertone of gratitude in his brother’s voice.

‘Well, good night brother.’ Loki half smiled, opening the door to his room.

‘Good night, Loki.’ Thor replied with a kind and warm smile as he continued to walk to his own room.

Loki took of his shoes, letting his feet touch the cold marble floor. He took of his clothes, neatly folded them and placed them on his chair. He opened his wardrobe in search of nightwear but got distracted by a cold breeze coming from his open window, sending a shiver down his spine. Loki looked outside, gazing at the stars as they bathed him in their light.

‘Well, maybe not all of Summer was hell.’ He softly mumbled with a smile.

Deciding that it was still too warm, Loki crawled into his bed in only his underwear. He placed his head to rest on his pillow, a smile growing on his face as he thought back to Thor’s words of praise.

A cooling breeze moving through his room, no buzzing sounds of annoying insects and a feeling of love running through his body. Yes, he will sleep well tonight.

Or so Loki thought.

His eyes popped open as he heard his door slowly creak. He looked up only to find his brother standing in his nightclothes, a pillow under his arm.

Loki stared at the god for a second, then placed his head on his pillow again.

‘No.’ He firmly stated.

‘Please brother?’ Thor pleaded. ‘I have left you be for almost a week cause of the hot temperatures but tonight is a lot less warm.’

‘No.’

‘Also, I can’t sleep.’ Thor continued, ignoring his brother’s answer.

‘We have been separated for hardly five minutes, have you even touched your bed?’

‘Yes.’

Loki remained silent for a moment only to let out another sigh.

‘Fine,’ He mumbled. ‘Just be sure to,-’ But the raven got interrupted as he felt a body plump down next to him. ‘-stay on your own half of the bed.’ Loki finished but knew his warning fell on deaf ears.

Thor, overjoyed to finally be able to sleep next to his brother again, wrapped an arm around the raven’s waist. ‘No complaints.’ He warned the other.

‘This is to warm Thor, we will get sweaty.’

‘Then go take a bath in the morning.’

‘I can feel your breath in my neck.’

‘Then you should just be happy I brushed my teeth.’

‘Our bodies are starting to sweat, I can feel our skin sticking together.’

‘Stop complaining.’

Loki rolled his eyes, knowing his brother was not going to let go.

‘Fine, but only because I am too tired to kick you out.’ He spoke, slightly annoyed.

‘I love you to, brother.’ Thor responded with a smile and a soft chuckle.

‘Yes… I guess the feeling is mutual.’ Loki muttered as the smile came back on his face.

‘Sleep tight.’

‘Blessed dreams.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it for this chapter.
> 
> Hope you liked this one. I really enjoyed writing something different here, it was indeed a challenge but it was fun. 
> 
> Anyway, hope to see you next time!


	6. The Snake and the Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> It sure has been a while (maybe writing three stories at the same time was not one of my brightest ideas…) but hey, I’m finally back with another chapter for “All I did for you”. 
> 
> Hope you will enjoy!

‘Loki! Come on, hurry up!’

‘Yes, yes, easy.’ The raven sighed, only barely avoiding a branch to the face which his brother had pushed aside.

It had been six hours since they’d left Asgard behind and wandered through the Northern Forests. It was a sunny day, the young green leaves moving gently in a cool breeze.

‘I can hardly believe tomorrow will be mother’s birthday again.’ Thor spoke enthusiastically as he dropped his backpack and stretched his limbs.

‘Yes, well, that is the thing with birthdays, they tend to repeat themselves every year.’ Loki smirked. He dropped his heavy backpack with a loud sigh, bending his back till he heard a soft cracking sound.

‘You are working up quite a sweat there.’ Thor laughed.

‘Yes, I know.’ The trickster half growled, watching his ever cheerful brother from the corner of his eye. ‘You know what would be marvelous? If you could keep your own belongings in your own backpack instead of shoving them in mine.’ He rummaged through his backpack, taking out a few of his brother’s items. ‘I mean honestly, who brings a flail on a search through the forest?’

‘Well, I do, I brought it for you so you would have something to defend yourself with in case of an attack. I mean, I know your Seiðr is getting better by the day but maybe you should not rely on it all that much.’

‘You know I do not use such weapons and I am perfectly fine with relying on my Seiðr only.’ Loki quickly responded, his voice tainted with irritation.

Thor looked at his brother with a sigh.

‘Yes, however,’ he continued carefully. ‘maybe you could, I don’t know, stop using it? You know father does n-’

‘Look at the amounts of food you brought! Look at this,’ Loki quickly interrupted his brother and held up a hand full of snacks, ranging from bread and cookies to fruits and walnuts. ‘is this, is this mead? Just how long were you planning on staying out?’

‘Well,’ Thor sighed, giving up on the subject of Seiðr. ‘you said our hunt could take quite some time so I thought I sh-’

‘What in the name of the Norns? Thor. Seriously?’ Loki interrupted again, anger ringing his voice as he pulled out two heavy weights. ‘No wonder my backpack is so extremely heavy! Why did you bring these? In what scenario could we possibly be in need of weights?’

‘… when I get bored?’ Thor carefully replied, watching as his brother was readying his aim to throw the heavy objects at his head.

‘W-well, the heaviness is not only caused by _my_ items, you brought books. What good are they for? Are you planning on boring our enemies to death?’ Thor defended himself.

‘Books are knowledge, knowledge is power.’ Loki simply stated, crossing his arms.

‘First, that does not make any sense, second, you are wrong,’ Thor disagreed and held out a beautifully engraved hammer. It was a weapon, _his_ weapon that was gifted by his father on his eighteenth birthday. ‘ _This_ is power.’

‘Yes, well, I suppose you don’t have a free hand to carry your own items, given the fact that you carry your “ _power_ ” in one and your massive ego in the other.’ Loki spoke in his iconic unimpressed tone as he emptied his bag further in search of one of his books.

‘I always enjoy our little arguments brother,’ Thor smiled, oblivious to the snarl the raven just gave him. ‘It is fun!’

‘Hm.’ Was Loki’s only response to that, though he was unable to hide a quiet smile.

‘Tell me again, Loki,’ Thor said as he started to climb a tree. ‘What is it we are searching for?’

‘The silver night howler.’ Loki said, holding up one of his books.

Thor sat down on one of the branches, letting his feet dangle. He looked down and raised a questioning brow at a picture of a simple green plant his brother was showing him. ‘So we have been walking around for hours in search of a weed to give to our mother as a birthday present?’

‘Wha-? Weed?’ Loki took a glance at his book and then showed the picture to his brother again. ‘ _This_ is not a weed, you dolt. This is a refined, delicate and beautiful flower, though I believe those three adjectives are nowhere to be found in your dictionary so I guess it must be hard for you to understand.’

‘… it is a weed.’ Thor eventually repeated after taking another long stare at the picture.

Loki let out a deep sigh as he lowered his book. ‘It may look simple now but this plant blossoms only during the night. It is one of the few plants mother does not have in her private garden thus making it the perfect gift.’

‘… We are giving mother a plant?’

‘You think of a proper birthday gift, Thor!’ Loki nearly shouted as he closed his book. ‘I would like to hear your suggestions for next year.’

‘Hmm… how about a dress?’

‘You gave her a dress last year!’

‘… a scarf?’

‘You gave that for last mother’s day,’ Loki sighed, rubbing his eyes. ‘honestly, is there nothing else you could think of?’

‘It will be fine, brother.’ the blond smiled as he let himself fall from the tree, landing perfectly on his feet. ‘I will think of a suited present next year. For now, let’s just focus on finding this flower. I am sure mother will like it.’

Loki looked up and stared at his eighteen-year-old brother who, although he hated to admit it, seemed to have grown even taller. ‘Of course she will,’ He muttered. ‘it is my idea, after all.’ He packed his bag, leaving the heavy weights and flail behind. ‘Just promise me to tell no one that we went into the Northern forests. Mother will surely kill me if she finds out.’

‘Which I could understand, this forest nearly killed you once when you were little, it could do so again.’

‘It is only dangerous for youngsters and those who have no gist of what they are doing. I have changed since then. My Seiðr is more powerful than ever and I have studied every dangerous creature that lives here so there will be no surprises.’

‘…You are still a youngster, though.’

‘I most certainly am not!’

‘Well, whatever happens, I want you to stay close to me.’ Thor said, placing his hand on his brother’s shoulder. ‘I am the oldest and me and Mjolnir will protect you from all harm.’

‘One year Thor,’ Loki sighed in irritation. ‘we only differ in age by one year.’

‘And that one year makes a lot of difference. Listen, Loki, I will never let anything happen to you again, ever. You can count on me and I will always be here for you.’ The blond spoke with a warm and reassuring smile.

Loki looked at his brother, yet again unable to hide a smile. The blonde’s constant worrying and overprotectiveness drove him mad from time to time, though he had to be honest, it did felt… comforting knowing that there would always be someone who would look after him. Someone who he could turn to would he ever need it.

Loki’s smile widened as he looked into the blonde’s determent ocean blue eyes. ‘I appreciate your consideration brother. I will think of your kind words when I protect you from the certain trouble you will put yourself into.’

‘Trouble? Me?’ Thor chuckled, slamming his hand hard against the raven’s back. ‘Always the joker, Loki.’

The two continued their way deeper into the forest, crossing rivers by jumping from one timeworn stone to the next. Climbing hills, using the dangling lianas as ropes and trudging down seemingly endless sand paths.

‘Are we nearly done yet?’ Thor complained after another 2 hours of strolling as he sat down on a rock. He took off his shoe and held it upside down, letting the sand escape. ‘I am hungry, cold, tired and we are starting to lose daylight pretty fast.’

‘Stop your whining,’ Loki responded while studying a map. ‘it should be around here, somewhere…’

He looked up and scanned his surroundings. Thor was right, the journey had taken longer than he had calculated which caused them to reach their destination at a much later hour. The sun was starting to set, the trees casting long shadows through the already dim lighted forest. They had to find this plant soon or they would not make it back before nightfall and although Loki spoke in such confidence of his Seiðr, he did not like the idea of actually having to use it. He always practiced the arts in complete solitude, never getting the change to put it to practice thus never really knowing how skilled he would be during an actual battle.

 ‘Brother, I think I found our weed!’ Thor shouted in excitement as he put his shoe back on. ‘Over there!’

He pointed at a small plant which stood firm at the end of a long, dark and narrow pathway, bathing in the last remaining light of the day.

‘Brilliant Thor!’ Loki smiled brightly, dropping his backpack to the ground. ‘Now, to get it home safely,’ he mumbled as he walked down the shadowy path, crouching down a little to avoid the low hanging branches.

‘Careful brother, I do not trust these paths.’ Thor spoke firmly, a slight undertone of worry ringing in his voice. ‘Maybe you should return, I will retrieve the plant for you.’

‘Nonsense!’ Loki spoke as he crouched down even more, now moving further from his brother’s sight on his hands and knees. ‘You would just damage the flower with your brute strength, most likely beyond repair.’

Thor watched with care as he saw his brother crawling down the narrow path. His entire body instantly tensed as the raven moved down further, leaving him completely out of sight. How was he going to help his brother now if something were to happen? How was he supposed to protect him if he could not see him?

‘Loki, are you nearly done?’ He asked impatiently.

‘Yes, yes, I’ve almost got it!’ Loki responded with a cough, clearing his path from some cobwebs. His attention was then drawn to his hands as he felt a soft texture under the tip of his fingers. He looked down and saw the small path was littered with short silver hairs.

‘Fur…?’ Loki wondered to himself as he picked some up, studying it closely.

Maybe it was of a rabbit or a silver hare. He then picked up another tuft of fur, this one was dripping… red?

Loki swallowed as he looked up, he squinted his eyes, trying to follow the trail of fur and blood drops but as the trees and its branches blocked almost all sunlight, he could hardly see where it was leading him. He inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled slowly through his mouth to keep himself calm.

Just a little further.

He could see the flower at the end of the dark path, standing in a small ray of sunlight. He reached out, trying to touch its leaves.

Just a little more.

Thor restlessly phased back and forth, constantly considering whether he should follow his baby brother or not. But what good would it do if he did? The path was small and narrow, chances were he wouldn’t even fit through and even if he did, there would be not all that much he could do in such a cramped position.

He then raised his gaze in alarm as he heard his brother shriek.

‘R-RUN!’  He heard his brother scream.

‘Loki?! What is the matter?!’ Thor shouted, watching as the trees and bushes started to shake heavily.

‘WOLF! RUN!’ Loki shouted as he came crawling out of the narrow path, nearly stumbling back on all fours again as he tried to get on his feet as fast as possible.

Thor looked at his brother, quickly running towards him to offer his hand and help him regain his balance. He then stood still as the thundering sound of falling trees ringed in his ears, the ground shaking heavily as the large trees fell.

He nearly gasped as he saw his brother being hunted by a great white wolf who nearly bit the raven’s foot off as he tried to run away. The beast was much taller than Loki, standing almost ten feet tall. Its massive head covered in scars and old wounds. Its mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, growling and barking at the young god as it chased him with bright yellow eyes.  

‘What are you waiting for, you oaf?!’ He heard the raven scream. ‘Run! Just run!’ Loki let himself crash into his brother’s chest, planning on grabbing him by his wrist and run off together. As he did, however, he noticed that his brother did not move an inch.

‘Thor?!’

‘We have searched for hours,’ Thor spoke in a low voice, ignoring his brother’s warnings. ‘I will not leave without mother’s present!’ he said, taking a confident step forward.

‘Wha-?! Have you gone mad?!’ Loki screamed in desperation. ‘We are not here to fight Thor! We do not kill sacred creatures now move!’ He turned around as he heard the wolf closing in, looking at the creature through fear tainted emerald eyes.

‘Listen, beast,’ Thor spoke in a loud voice, walking towards the creature with confident steps. ‘you either move and let us pass or suffer the consequences of standing against the princes of Asgard!’ he stood still, firmly placed his feet in the dirt and raised Mjolnir. ‘What shall it be?’

The great wolf stopped for a second, tilting its head slightly as it watched the young god of thunder.

Loki looked at the beast with pounding heart and then at his brother. ‘Thor!’ he harshly whispered. ‘Walk back, slowly, now!’ he commanded, keeping his voice as soft as possible as he took a few slow and careful steps backwards.

‘The god of thunder runs for no one!’ Thor roared, making Loki press the palm of his hand against his face.

At this, the wolf took a defensive stance. It lowered its head, baring its white teeth and let out a deep, low growl.

‘You idiotic arrogant fool!’ Loki hissed.

The wolf then dug a paw into the dirt, staring at the blond with ferocious eyes. After releasing another growl in warning, it charged towards the god, aiming for his throat.

‘Thor! Watch out!’ Loki screamed, hardly daring to watch. His brother, on the other end, smirked confidently and raised Mjolnir towards the sky.

Loki looked up in awe as dark clouds instantly covered the skies, the roaring sound of thunder echoing through the forest. He turned his attention back to his brother, watching as small sparks came from the weapon he was holding.

A blinding lightning came down from the sky, hitting the young god of thunder. Thor conjured all the strength he had to keep his body from collapsing under the sheer pressure. He let out a loud roar, as he tried to aim Mjolnir at the beast.

But he failed.

Loki quickly crouched down, making himself as small as possible as lightning came crashing down all around him, destroying the trees and burning the grass. He opened his eyes and stared in disbelieve as he saw his brother fallen to one knee and panting heavily.

‘Brother!’ the raven stood up and came running for the blond, pushing him aside just before the wolf could sink its teeth into his flesh.

‘What was that?! You nearly killed me!’

‘I, I,’ Thor stammered as he tried to catch his breath. ‘I may have to practice a little more…’ he shamefully admitted.

‘You mean you can’t control your powers yet?!’ Loki turned his gaze towards the wolf and saw it standing still, panting for half a minute before turning around. Its bright yellow eyes locked on his emerald’s.

It came running towards them again as Loki and Thor sat on their knees, both not fast enough to get back on their feet in time. The wolf opened its mouth, baring its white fangs and, with tremendous force, bit down straight through Loki’s chest.

The creature then looked up in silent bewilderment, taking a few unsteady steps back as the two brothers had suddenly disappeared in a green glow. It first tilted its head and then raised it to scan its surroundings. As it did not see its pray, it pressed its nose close against the ground, sniffing for even the slightest hint of Asgardian god.

‘You were able to fool the creature! You are amazing Loki!’ Thor spoke while panting as he and his brother laid completely still in nearby bushes. He opened his mouth to speak again but a pale hand quickly found its way to shut it again.

‘Hush!’ Loki whispered as he kept his eyes on the great wolf, watching it walk by closely.

‘I am ready to fight again, brother.’ Thor whispered with a smile after pushing the trickster’s hand of his mouth. ‘Come on, we can do this. Together.’

His smile soon faded as his enthusiastic gaze was answered with rage burning emerald eyes.

Loki glared at his brother, nearly baring his teeth.

‘You imbecile!’ He whispered though Thor could clearly hear the fury ringing in his voice. ‘What were you thinking?! You could have killed a sacred creature! You could have killed me! You could have set this entire forest ablaze!’

‘I, I,’ Thor stammered, his gaze immediately directed towards the ground in shame and guilt.

‘I do not want to see you raise that hammer one more time!’ Loki continued. ‘We. Do not. Kill. Sacred. Creatures. Thor!’ He spelled out. ‘Norns know how much damage you could have caused, now move before the bea-’ But Loki stopped his sentence as he heard a deep growling sound, feeling the low frequency vibrate in his chest. He turned around and saw the massive beast hanging over them.

Both brothers slowly stood up, walking backwards in small steps as the beast bared its teeth again.

‘Thor,’ Loki began, keeping his eyes locked with that of the creature in front of him. ‘I will create a distraction and I want you to run, am I clear?’

‘I am not leaving you!’

‘You run!’ Loki repeated, not tolerating any form of contradiction. He let his Seiðr run over his body, changing himself into a tremendous pitch-black snake, gaining the wolfs attention as their eyes met.

‘Brother, I-’ But Thor had no chance of getting his brother’s attention. The massive snake hissed loudly at the wolf, baring its long fangs and slithered from the bushes into the open, lightning-damaged field.

Thor watched in terror as he saw the two creatures dancing around each other, the air filled with stifling tension.

The black snake graciously evaded all the attacks the wolf threw at him, crawling behind rocks and trees for protection, relying on the upcoming darkness of the night for coverage.   

Although this display of destruction hardly lasted more than a few minutes, Thor felt like watching the ordeal for hours on end. He nearly screamed as he watched the wolf successfully take hold of the snake in the iron lock of its jaws. A violent shiver ran down his spine as he heard the black creature hiss in pain.

The snake moved quickly, wrapping its body around that of the white creature, it opened its mouth and bit down on the wolf’s shoulder. The wolf opened its mouth and let out a loud cry in pain.

The entire body of the snake emitted a green glow and then changed back into that of a raven-haired, pale young man who found himself lying on top of the beasts back.

‘BROTHER!’ Thor screamed as he did not saw Loki moving, gaining the attention of the wounded wolf.

‘Thor?’ Loki looked up while holding on tight to the wolf’s soft coat. He tried to move further, to stand up tall and get a clearer view, but as he tried to do so, he noticed he could hardly move his left leg. He looked at it, only now feeling a sharp pain traveling through his body as he saw the deep bite wound the wolf had left on him. He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain and looked at his brother again.

‘I told you to run, you idiot!’ he screamed as he saw his brother facing the creature he so desperately tried to distract. A panic hit him as the wolf started to move, its gaze now locked on the god of thunder.

Loki cursed as his mind was racing on what to do. He felt the wolf’s body tense and nearly fell of its back as it took a limp step towards the older god, its teeth bared in rage and pain.

‘No… no, no, no, no,’ Loki uttered as he heard a growl coming from the creature underneath him. He looked at his brother who merely stood there, not moving a muscle.

He froze.

The mighty god of thunder, his role model brother, froze. For the first time in his life, Loki saw his brother trembling, insecure and scared.

‘Thor…?’ he said, hardly audible over the creature’s growling. ‘THOR! RUN!’ He screamed at his brother but the blond, still, did not move.

Loki’s eyes then widened as the wolf started to move for his brother, first in slow, unsteady steps but it quickly turned into a sprint. ‘THOR! MOVE!’ he tried, hoping the blond would respond but he didn’t.

He needed to stop the creature for if not, his brother would surely find his death between the beast’s jaws. Loki then finally thought of something.

He quickly conjured his trusted dagger and leaned a little to the side, hovering over the wound in the beast’s shoulder that he created as a snake. He raised his dagger and, with all his strength, stabbed it deep in the existing wound. He held on to the handle with both hands and let himself fall off, slicing the dagger downwards through the beast’s leg, cutting straight down its artery.

Thor and Loki then both covered their ears as the wolf let out a loud cry in pain. It stumbled and fell down, its leg completely open.

The blond stared at the display in front of him as the creature’s fall finally snapped him out of his frozen state. He looked at the wolf as it lay on the ground, squirming, crying. Then, he looked at his blood covered brother who was almost in the exact same state.

‘Loki!’ he quickly ran to his side and helped him to get up, hearing the raven let out a loud hiss as he tried to stand on both legs. He panted heavily, leaning against the god of thunder as he could hardly stand on his own feet.

‘What have I done…?’ Loki softly spoke as he looked at the crying creature next to him. ‘What have I done...?!’ He placed his hands in front of his mouth, only then noticing the blood soaking his clothes, skin and hair. ‘wha- what-?!’ He barely uttered, staring at his quivering hands.

‘Loki,’ Thor firmly grabbed his brother’s shoulders and made him face him ‘it is okay, brother. You did well, you saved me.’

‘I killed a sacred creature.’ Loki whispered in shock. ‘I, I killed… oh Norns, what have I done?’

‘No, you saved me.’ Thor replied, forcing his brother to keep looking at him. ‘You, you were true to your word. You promised to protect me from the certain trouble I would put myself… us into and you did.’

Thor saw a tear trickling down his brother’s cheek as the wolf let out its final cry. He wrapped his arms around his trembling brother, only now noticing how much smaller Loki really was compared to himself. He held him tight against his body as he heard faint sobs coming from the trickster.

‘It is okay brother, you did very well,’ Thor praised him, his voice soft and caring. ‘there is no one who would blame you.’ He placed a gentle kiss on his brother’s temple and rubbed his back.

They stood still for at least 15 minutes. The wolfs blood which covered the raven now slowly draining the blonde’s clothes as well, leaving them both to shiver as a cold evening breeze passed by.

‘Let us go home, Loki,’ Thor finally spoke as the sound of his brother’s sobbing softened. ‘mother and father must be worried.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s it for this chapter, thank you so so much for showing your support by reading this, it really means a lot to me! Next chapter I’ll post will be for “A Tale of the Trickster and the Spider” and “Sing me one last song”. Next chapter for this story will be up in about 2 weeks!
> 
> This was a first for me to write a battle like this so please leave a comment and let me know what you think! feedback is always welcome, I want to learn as much as possible to make my stories better and more enjoyable for you to read!


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